House prices had their strongest increase this month since May 2007, Hometrack reported this morning.
Agents reported price rises in just over four in ten regional markets (41%), up from 6% a year ago.
In many regional markets outside London and the South-East, Hometrack said it was the first time there had been positive growth in prices for over five years.
Hometrack said: “Prices are rising off a low base and talk of a housing bubble is overstated.”
However, agents also widely reported a rise in applicants, for the eighth consecutive month, and a decrease in properties available.
Regions where supply of new stock went up were East Anglia, East Midlands, North West, North-West, Wales and West Midlands. Only one region, the East Midlands, reported a drop in demand.
The firm said it expected house prices to continue to rise.
Meanwhile, the Land Registry has reported its figures for August.
It says property prices across England and Wales crept up just 0.1% in August compared with July to stand at £164,654.
It puts average prices 1.3% ahead of where they were in August 2012.
In London, the average property price is £389,066, with monthly inflation at 1.2% and annual inflation at 7.1%.
By comparison, prices in three regions fell on a monthly basis – the East, North-East and Wales.
On a monthly basis, there were annual falls in the North-West, Yorkshire and the Humber, and North-East. Prices in several regions were almost static, registering a 0.4% rise in the East Midlands, a 0.3% rise in the South-East, and 0.1% rises in both the South-West and West Midlands.
Property transactions have been trending upwards. In its latest data, the Land Registry says that between March and June, there were 57,205 sales per month on average, compared with 54,246 for the same period last year.
However, in June itself, transaction levels barely changed: 59,854 were recorded by the Land Registry in June 2012 and 60,168 in June this year.
Noticeably, London transactions were down 2% year on year, with sales in the lower price brackets all down.
In each bracket below £400,000, London transaction levels fell. The worst fall was in the £150,001-£200,000 bracket where there was a 13% drop in transactions compared with June last year.
Nationally, transactions were up just 1% year on year, but again with falls, of 1%, in some of the lower price brackets.
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