The building society said UK properties were now worth 10.9 per cent more than a year ago following a 1.2 per cent rise in the last four weeks.

The average UK house is now worth £183,577, buoyed by continued growth in London and the South East.

Nationwide chief economist Robert Gardner said: “A notable feature of the upturn in the housing market is that price growth has been significantly stronger in the South of England, especially in London and the South East.

“In the first quarter of 2014, prices in the capital were around 20 per cent higher than their pre-crisis levels, while in the UK as a whole prices were still around 2 per cent lower.

“Interestingly, price growth in London and the South East appears to be being driven by the top end of the market, with higher priced locations recording stronger price growth.”

Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, said the market must prepare itself for a slowdown in lending following the introduction of new mortgage rules last month under the Mortgage Market Review.

“Despite rising house prices, affordability is not an issue, and with the new Mortgage Market Review rules finally kicking in last week, is not likely to become one as lenders take a forensic approach when deciding how much to lend,” he said.

“There may be a slowdown in lending over the next month or so as the new rules bed in but this is likely to be nothing more than a blip, given the pent-up demand to buy.”