The average price of a property in the UK in November was £270,708, according to the Office for National Statistics’ UK House Price Index – 10% higher than a year earlier.

House price growth was strongest in Wales where prices increased by 12.1% in the year to November 2021. Scotland saw house prices increase by 11.4% in the year to November 2021, England saw a 9.8% rise and prices were up 10.7%.

The lowest annual growth was in London, where prices increased by 5.1% in the year to November 2021.

Nicky Stevenson, managing director at estate agent group Fine & Country, said: “Supply bottlenecks continued to tighten, pushing prices ever higher despite the tapering of tax incentives.

“Looking ahead, those market fundamentals are unlikely to shift dramatically in the coming months, and this remains a red-hot sellers’ market.

“While interest rates are expected to creep higher, the effect of this may only become clear over a multi-year period.

“Unless we see significant numbers of new listings before the spring, double digit house price growth is likely to remain persistent for some time.”

Sarah Coles, senior personal finance analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown, added: “Right now, we’re not expecting prices to fall, especially while buyers continue to outnumber sellers so dramatically.

“The shortage of homes on the market should keep a floor under prices – so we’d expect a slowing of price rises rather than anything more dramatic.”