According to the Halifax house price index the price of the average UK home rose 1.1 % In March.

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.

According to the Halifax House Price Index, house prices have gone up for the third consecutive month.

The Index shows that house prices rose by 1.6% in September. Over the last 3 months (Quarter 3) they have risen by 2.8%, the first quarterly rise for two years (2007 Quarter 3) and the biggest since 2007 Quarter 1 (2.9%).

It is the third consecutive month house prices have gone up, giving an annual change of -7.4%, up from a low of -17.7% in April.

Martin Ellis, housing economist, said: “The combination of increased demand and a low level of properties available for sale has pushed up house prices in recent months. The marked improvement in affordability due to the reduction in both property prices and interest rates since mid 2007 has been a key factor in stimulating higher demand.”

“Continuing increases in unemployment and low earnings growth are likely to constrain the rise in demand. There are also some signs that the improvement in market conditions is encouraging more people to put their properties up for sale. This development could loosen market conditions by alleviating the current shortage of supply and curb the pace of house price growth evident in recent months.”