Proactive Investors - UK house prices rose at their fastest annual pace for two years in September, in a sign of the impact of falling mortgage rates on the property market.
House prices have climbed 0.7% since last month and 3.2% since last year, according to data from Nationwide, up from an annual rate of 2.4% in August and the fastest rate of growth since November 2022.
House prices, which now average £266,094, are now around 2% below the all-time highs reached in summer 2022.
Recent months have seen growth in incomes continue to outstrip growth in house prices, while banks and other building societies have cut borrowing costs amid expectations that the Bank of England will continue to lower interest rates after August's first cut, said Nationwide's chief economist Robert Gardner.
"These trends have helped to improve affordability for prospective buyers and underpinned a modest increase in activity and house prices, though both remain subdued by historic standards."
The building society's data showed that most UK regions saw a pickup in annual house price growth, with Northern Ireland's 8.6% rise at the forefront, Scotland's growth accelerating to 4.3% in the third quarter from 1.4% in the second, while Wales prices increased 2.5% from 1.4% the previous quarter.
England's house prices were up 1.9% in the past quarter compared with 2023, with northern England continuing to outperform southern areas, with prices up 3.1% versus 1.3%.
London was the best performing southern region, with annual price growth of 2.0%. East Anglia was the only UK region to record an annual price fall, with prices down 0.8% year-on-year.
Iain McKenzie, CEO of the Guild of Property Professionals, said the news of the surge in house price growth will be "met with open arms by homeowners looking to sell" as house prices "usually remain robust at this time of the year, as there is still time to buy, complete and move in before Christmas".
He noted that new Chancellor Rachel Reeves will take to the despatch box to unveil her first budget in a month's time, which will give the property industry "a good indication of how this government will engage with it".