There is no sign of the UK property market picking up in the coming months, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors says.

I think that is a very sweeping statement and like many things it depends how you look at them and where you look at them from. I, for instance, can appear slim in some fairground mirrors!

I think that, generally speaking, the market will be stable but a number of factors can have an effect:.

• Whether you believe it or not, the weather plays a part especially in the Spring. A sunny Spring always creates a small blip (upwards) in the number of transactions.
• An early Easter also helps as, for some reason,  people like to move at Easter.
• The Olympics may put some people off moving but I think that it will have minimal impact.

The four things that will affect the market and about which the Government could do something are as follows:

1)  Extend the First Time Buyers Stamp Duty holiday thus encouraging more first time buyers to buy and reducing the amount they need to save. At the moment this is due to end 25/3/2012. I can see a mini boom when people wake up to this and then a slump.

2)  I have blogged about this before the First Time Buyer helps schemes need to be available for non new build properties as well. Otherwise the market as a whole does not get any benefit – see my blog

3)  Lenders must be encouraged to lend but not just to first time buyers. Many years ago (1980s - I am that old) lenders allowed you to port your negative equity to a new property. Provided that the amount did not increase and the client could afford the payments they were no worse off and indeed the loan to value ratio went up. If lenders did this (perhaps with some support from the Government like an equity loan for some of the negative equity) this would free a lot of first time sellers to move this would help chains get started.

4)  Lenders panels – now I know you do not care really dear reader but some lenders have just done this. In one case a limited number of law firms are on the lenders panel and there are probably referral fees payable to third parties. This is the thin end of the wedge, it is in restraint of trade and restricts consumer choice. If you want a local solicitor or to choose a solicitor you may well have to pay 2 lots of fees once to your chosen solicitor and once to the panel solicitor. This will obviouosly increase costs and could cause delay.

I could drone on about potential problems that this could cause but I have done my 400 words so will save that for another day.

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