UK average house prices increased by 7.6% over the year to November to £250,000, according to the Office for National Statistics.

That’s the equivalent of an £18,000 increase on the average property and the highest annual growth rate the UK has seen since June 2016.

Average house prices increased over the year in England to £267,000 (7.6%), Wales to £180,000 (7.0%), Scotland to £166,000 (8.6%) and Northern Ireland to £143,000 (2.4%).

London’s average house price surpassed £500,000 for the first time in November 2020.

As buyers clamoured to get a mortgage to beat the Stamp Duty deadline in March 2021, mortgage approvals for house purchases (an indicator of future lending) increased further in November 2020 to 105,000, said the Bank of England. This is the highest level since August 2007.

Jonathan Hopper, CEO of Garrington Property Finders, said: “The property market is passing more milestones than a car in the fast lane.

“For the first time, the average home in the UK is now worth a quarter of a million Pounds; in London it’s double that.

“But most striking of all is that headline figure on the speedometer. Average house prices are now accelerating faster than at any time since the eve of the Brexit referendum.”