The price of English homes rose by 3.4% in the twelve months to December – with a 6.4% rise in London and 3.7% rise in the South East. Welsh house prices rose by 2.4% and Scottish prices by 3.1%. However, Northern Ireland saw a decline of 5.7%

North East property buying agents YappYapp director Ali Mackay said the regional contrast could not be more striking: “The London market’s ability to recover from its brief dip never ceases to amaze, with prices there now increasing to ever more dizzying heights.

“At the other end of the scale, the North East has the dubious distinction of being the only one of nine English regions to see prices fall through 2012.”

The ONS statistics, calculated using mortgage transaction data, show a more significant rise than the Land Registry figure of 1.7% for England and Wales.

House prices remained stable in the first month of 2013 and will persist over the coming three months, according to RICS latest housing market survey of chartered surveyors, also released today.

The number of housing transactions continued to grow, surveyors suggested, although new buyer enquiries were believed to have fallen in  January.

RICS global residential director Peter Bolton King said it was interesting to see the amount of completed transactions were on the rise: “While it is still very early days to talk about a comprehensive market recovery, activity levels are still encouraging and there is some optimism out there that things could continue to improve.

“That said, in many parts of the UK – such as London and the South East – high house prices and the lofty deposits required by many lenders continue to prevent many first time buyers from getting a foot on the ladder, which is preventing any significant movement at the lower end of the market.”