Prices in the three months to January were 1.9% higher than in the previous three months and 7.3% higher than in the same period last year.

The average UK house price now stands at £175,546.

Activity is on an upward trend with housing transactions in 2013 exceeding one million for the first time since 2007.

Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, said: “With the supply of properties being slow to respond to more buoyant market conditions, stronger demand has resulted in continued upward pressure on house prices. Demand has increased against a background of low interest rates and higher consumer confidence underpinned by signs that the economy is recovering and unemployment falling faster than expected.

“Official schemes, such as Help to Buy, also appear to have boosted housing demand. However, continuing pressures on household finances, as earnings fail to keep pace with consumer price inflation, are expected to remain a constraint on the rate of growth of house prices.”

Jeremy Duncombe, director of Legal & General Mortgage Club, said: “In the South East and London the market is being boosted by several factors such as constricted supply and foreign buyers, thus pushing prices up.

“It is encouraging to see that consumer confidence it starting to increase as this will enable the market to recover in the long term. However, despite recent positivity it is still worth remembering that until transaction levels increase to where they were in 2007 the market will still be in the recovery phase and we are well below that level currently.”