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British property valuers reported sustained price increases in November and a record shortage of houses to sell, but expressed some hope that incentives for first-time buyers would lead to more sales in the coming months. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said on Thursday that its house price balance slipped to +49 in November from an upwardly revised +50 in October. The index touched its highest level in over a year in August at +53 . High demand for property is not leading to greater supply, however. The number of homes for sale per surveyor fell to a fresh record low last month, and fewer properties were coming on to the  "I can't recall a set of comments ... which have so frequently drawn attention to lack of stock on the market. Given this, it is hard not to envisage prices continuing to climb upwards," RICS economist Simon Rubinsohn said. Official figures showed that house prices grew 6.1 percent in the year to September, and last week majo...