The average value of a British home picked up 1.1% during April alone, to stand at £166,094, according to the country’s biggest mortgage lender. This followed a rise of 0.5% in February and 0.4% in March.

However, activity in the housing market remained muted, with mortgage approvals (a good indicator of completed house sales) down 1% in the first quarter of the year.

Halifax observed that low interest rates, feeding through to affordable mortgage repayments, are helping to support house prices, with the typical mortgage now representing 28% of disposable income, compared to 48% in Q3 2007.

Average UK house price figures also disguise significant regional disparities.

Giles Hannah, managing director of London agency VanHan, said:

“In terms of a national average, house prices continue to pick up gradually. But it must be remembered that this increase masks significant regional differences. The UK as a whole is seeing modest growth, with areas such as London, Oxford and Henley seeing price rises while Nottingham, Wales and the Midlands have seen price falls. The overall outlook is broadly positive, however, with market confidence across the UK improving, although activity is still subdued by historical standards.

“London is undoubtedly the big success story and is doing a good job of pulling up the national average. Its residential sales market remains robust with prices continuing to rise. International buyers, particularly from Asia, are fuelling demand for best in-class properties and are snapping up properties at 10 to 14 per cent discounts as a result of the weakness of sterling compared with their own currencies. UK-based buyers are also highly active, not just internationals, and are seeing investment in London property as an alternative to a pension and a way of maintaining and growing their wealth.

“We have also witnessed a rise in French high-net-worth families relocating to London owing to the increased taxes in France, creating a shortage of supply in the £5m-plus bracket and fuelling price rises. Holland Park has seen a vast uplift in sales activity and significant house price increases, for example.

“The Cyprus situation has seen a number of people purchasing via offshore companies having to restructure their purchase, causing a delay to some transactions. However, London has benefitted from funds being moved from less stable euro economies into the London property market, and we don’t see this changing anytime soon.”

Jonathan Hopper, managing director, property search consultants Garrington, commented:

“With strong annual, quarterly and monthly figures, the UK property market is once again heading in the right direction.

“The market is being driven not just by opportunistic buy-to-letters, but also by first-time buyers who are the key to more sustained growth.

“The Funding for Lending scheme has resulted in a greater availability of mortgages and is spurring many would-be first-time buyers into action.

“Despite the improved market, buyers are still looking for value, and committed sellers need to be willing to negotiate on price if they want to secure a quick sale.

“We’re definitely seeing stronger buyers coming to the market, not just people window shopping without any plans to buy in the short term.”