In February the average price paid for a home rose to £170,000 – an increase of 5.3% year-on-year.

At the peak of the market, in November 2007, the average house price reached £181,658.

David Brown, commercial director of LSL Property Services, said: “This momentum is entirely sustainable although the next stage in this extraordinary take-off will be a rekindling of the construction industry.

“Already there are strong flickers of life from housebuilders and these seem set to ignite fully. If that can happen in the next few years the UK will be able to unleash the true potential of a property market supplied with enough homes to match demand.”

Continuing its trend of leading the way in house price rises, the value of a London home shot up by 13.8% compared to February 2013.

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Wales, which has lagged behind the rest of the country in house price increases, enjoyed the greatest monthly increase of 1.6% putting its average price at £119,118.

The only region to see an annual fall in house prices was the North East which saw prices paid drop by 1.3% to £97,332 last month.

The most up-to-date figures showedthat during December 2013 the number of completed house sales in England and Wales increased by 33% to 75,182 compared with 56,697 in December 2012.

The number of properties sold in England and Wales for over £1m in December 2013 increased by 44% to 898 from 624 in December 2012.

There were 966 repossessions in England and Wales during December 2013.

Wales is the only region with an increase in repossession sales in December 2013, up 6%.

To read the full report click HERE.