London house prices rise at fastest rate on record adding £588 a day, official figures show

House prices rose 1.5pc between March and April, the biggest monthly increase since January 2010.

The North East saw the lowest annual price growth, with a 2.9pc increase. The Land Registry said the average price for a house in the North East was £99,001.

Average house prices in England and Wales

The figures also showed that after London, the east of England recorded the next strongest annual price growth, with a 7.8pc increase taking average prices to £187,963.

The Land Registry figures record actual sales prices rather than mortgage lending data or sellers’ asking prices, and are seen as highly authoritative. Since the data come from completed property sales, the index tends to confirm a trend rather than predicting future price movement.

Nationwide building society warned earlier this week that the London housing market may face a "natural correction" this summer.

Graham Beale, the mutual's chief executive, said on Wednesday: "My view is that in London we will see a natural correction through the summer months. That intense heat does seem to be dissipating a bit. We could be seeing the early signs of a natural correction."

Hometrack's monthly report, based on a nationwide survey of estate agents and surveyors and also published on Friday, identified slowing house price growth in May. Overall house prices rose 0.5pc in May, compared to 0.6pc growth in April and March, the report found.

Richard Donnell, director of research at Hometrack, said: "Strong price increases, widespread talk of a possible housing bubble and recent warnings from the Bank of England on house price inflation are starting to test the resolve of buyers.

"There are already signs of slower activity in the mortgage market and we expect to see further signs of slowing house price momentum in the months ahead."

New mortgage lending rules came into force at the end of last month, which mean people applying for a mortgage face more rigorous affordability checks.

- How the different house price indices are calculated

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