UK house prices rose faster in June thanks to increases in Northern Ireland and London cancelling out a fall in Scotland.
The Office for National Statistics said UK average house prices rose by 5.7% in the year to June to hit £277,000, more than the increase of 5.6% seen in the year to May.
London prices increased by 5.3% over the year to June, up from 4.9% in May, meaning that the capital has hit a new high of 43% above its pre-financial crisis peak.
The average home in London now costs more than half a million pounds – £513,000.
Figures revealed that the East and South East drove the gains in property values across England, with rises of 9.2% and 7.7% respectively.
Housing charity Shelter said the average house price is now £12,000 more than this time last year and called for the Government to build more affordable homes.
Roger Harding, Shelter’s director of campaigns, said: “A further rise in house prices means that for an entire generation, a home of their own is nothing but a pipe dream.
“From families trapped in expensive and insecure private renting, to young people stuck in their childhood bedrooms, a stable future is spiralling further and further out of reach for millions.”
Richard Snook, senior economist at PricewaterhouseCoopers, added that more people will be forced to rent rather than buy as house prices are rising at twice the rate of average earnings.
He said: “By 2025 there will be more private renters than people owning a home with a mortgage.”