This was the eighth rise in the last nine months and the March rises pushed prices up 9.1 per cent since hitting their lowest point in April 2009.

Martin Ellis, housing economist, said the rate of growth was still slowing overall after the return of the £125,000 Stamp Duty threshold and poor weather at the start of the year.

He said: “There are signs that an increase in the number of properties available for sale is beginning to reduce the imbalance between supply and demand. This should help to contain the upward pressure on house prices.”

The average house price is now £168,521.

In addition, Bank of England industry-wide figures show that the number of mortgages approved to finance house purchase – a leading indicator of completed house sales – fell by a seasonally adjusted two per cent between January and February following a much larger decline of 17 per cent in the previous month.

However, the temporary increase in the lowest stamp duty threshold announced in last month’s Budget will mean that most first-time buyers do not pay the tax.

At £250,000, more than nine in ten first-time buyers would have been exempt from paying stamp duty in 2009 compared with just over one in two if the lowest threshold had been £125,000. The southern
regions of England will benefit most. Around three-quarters of first-time buyers in Greater London and the South East will be removed from the stamp duty tax net as a result of increasing the threshold from £125,000 to £250,000.

 Santander has started the rebrand of its Abbey and Bradford & Bingley branches, with 1,000 Abbey and B&B branches to be renamed Santander by end-January.

 The rebranding in the UK is in line with Santander’s policy of operating under the Santander name and brand image in all the markets in which it is present. Since the unified brand was introduced in 2005, Santander has rebranded in all its key markets, including Spain, Portugal, Germany, Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Argentina.

Emilio Botín, chairman of Banco Santander, said: “This is a historic day for Santander as its name is firmly established on the UK high street.

“When Santander acquired Abbey in 2004, there were some who doubted we could make it a success. Today, there can be no doubts. Over the last five years we have transformed our UK business into one of the most successful banks in the country. The decision to become Santander will put us in an even stronger position the UK.”

The ‘Fairness Index’, produced by the Financial Services Research Forum at Nottingham University Business School, looks at consumer perceptions of fairness with regards to financial services. The Index takes into account a wide range of measures including impartiality, familiarity, courtesy and communication.

The Index found IFAs enjoy by far the highest ratings on overall fairness, with an index score of 84 out of 100, significantly higher than the industry average of 72. When the data is broken down further, IFAs also rate the highest across each of the fairness measurements.

Brokers/advisers were followed by building societies (75), investment companies (73), Life insurers (72), and general insurers (72). Banks (68) and credit card companies (63) received the lowest ratings.

Chris Cummings, Director General of AIFA, commented: “AIFA strongly welcomes these impartial findings on fairness from the Financial Services Research Forum, and believe they provide a strong endorsement of the IFA profession.

“Not only is the profession the most trusted, but it is also regarded as the most fair – this is no mean feat given the recent economic conditions. It also further reaffirms that the public recognises the IFA profession’s core value: ‘The guiding light is to do well by the client’.”