The Land Registry’s Market Trend Data for England and Wales has shown an annual price increase of 4.6% in May.
This takes the average property value in England and Wales to £179,696 compared with the peak of £180,990 in November 2007.
Monthly house prices show no change since April.
The regional data indicates that London and the South East experienced the greatest increase in their average property value over the last 12 months, both with a movement of 9.1%.
East and North East experienced the greatest monthly rise, both with a movement of 1.6%, while Wales saw the only annual price fall with a decrease of 0.6%. Wales also saw the largest monthly price decrease with a fall of 1.7%.
The most up-to-date figures available for sales and repossessions – for March 2015 – shows the number of completed house sales in England & Wales decreased by 12% to 59,311 compared with 67,321 in March 2014.
The number of properties sold in England and Wales for over £1 million decreased by 6% to 842 from 893 a year earlier
repossessions in England and Wales decreased by 35% to 706 compared with 1,092 in March 2014. The region with the greatest fall in the number of repossession sales was the East.
John Goodall, CEO of mortgage lender Landbay, said: “Britain is still in the jaws of a sharpening housing crisis. Supplying enough homes to go round will both define and limit our economic recovery. Yet while that struggle is far from over – it is starting to look winnable.
“All the latest life signs are ticking along within a healthy range. Repossessions are retreating. Household earnings are gathering pace. House price growth is positive yet sustainable. And behind the scenes, mortgage lending is responding to all these factors with a growing sense of confidence.
“To keep this progress rolling, confidence must be backed by caution. Mortgage underwriting matters in the good times as much as the bad – and risks need to be properly controlled. Strong fundamentals combined with high quality underwriting will bring new investment into the mortgage market – from traditional sources of funding to retail investment through new peer to peer models. With time, a steady expansion of mortgage lending will be good for everyone. Rather than an unsustainable charge, the supply of new homes will feed on this solidity of demand from first time buyers and landlords. In short, there are no easy answers but the tide is turning for the better.”