The price of a typical house rose for the fourth consecutive month in August, increasing by 1.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Nationwide building society.
The three-month on three-month rate of change, which the mutual says is generally a smoother indicator of the near term trend,rose from 2.7% in July to 3.3% in August, the highest level since February 2007.
The average price of a typical UK property is still slightly lower than 12 months ago at £160,224.
However, the annual rate of change rose further in August, from -6.2% to -2.7%. Over the first eight months of 2009, the seasonally adjusted index of house prices has risen by 3.2%, though relative to the October 2007 peak it is down by 14.4%.