According to the Nationwide House Price Index published today, this takes house prices back to where they stood in January 2012, and still 11% lower than their 2007 peak.

The society noted that lending activity has increased in recent months, and that conditions for first-time buyers are improving slowly, but warned that macroeconomic uncertainty is likely to continue to subdue the market.

Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, said:

“While activity in the housing market remains muted by historic standards, there have been tentative signs of a pick up in activity in recent months. The Funding for Lending Scheme has achieved some success in bringing down mortgage rates, with some signs of a pick up in lending activity.

“Hopefully, the momentum will continue to build in the months ahead, though much will depend on whether the wider economic environment improves. Progress is likely to be relatively slow on that front if recent trends are any guide, with the UK economy shrinking for the fourth time in five quarters in Q4 2012.”

Jonathan Samuels, CEO of Dragonfly Property Finance, said:

“0% change over the past year comes as zero surprise. The stagnation of the property market continues.

“Other than prime and super-prime areas, largely in the capital, 2013 looks set to be another year of volatile price movements driven by sharp regional variations – with the overall trend flat.

“What’s certain is that the property market will remain acutely sensitive to the economic environment during 2013.

“Consumer confidence remains very tentative and while unemployment has fallen, the prospect of a triple-dip recession is keeping people on red alert.”

Nationwide noted that first-time buyers now account for 40% of all mortgage borrowing, but that at 20,000 per month their numbers remain considerably down on 32,000 typical pre-credit crunch.

It attributes this trend to continuing tighter lending criteria, with the differential between higher and lower loan-to-value mortgage rates prompting aspiring buyers to save longer for bigger deposits in order to secure lower rates.

The average first-time buyer now puts down a median deposit of 20%, compared to 10% in 2007.

The good news is that affordability continues to rise, with a combination of falling house prices and lower interest rates, together with a modest rise in annual earnings, meaning that the typical mortgage now accounts for 20% of average earnings, compared to 24% pre-2007.