British house prices jumped again last month to put the annual rate of increase in the three months to March at its highest in almost a year, the nation's largest mortgage lender said today.
HBOS's Halifax index showed house prices rose 0.9 per cent in March, giving a three-month annual increase of 6.2 per cent, the strongest pace since last April.
That followed prices rising by 1.5 per cent in February for an annual rate of 5.5 per cent.
UK government bond futures slipped after the figures were released as they cemented expectations the Bank of England would leave interest rates at 4.5 per cent later today and perhaps for the rest of the year.
HBOS said the average price of a British home was a seasonally adjusted £175,215 (€250,000) in March.
"It's a boom. On average over the last six months the index has shown a 0.7 per cent monthly increase and given the typical relationship with mortgage approvals there is more to come," said Alan Clarke, UK economist at BNP Paribas.
"By mid-year there is a very realistic chance of the year-on-year rate breaking into double digit territory." But HBOS said there were signs that the pick-up in the housing market this year was levelling off.