Halifax has reported that house prices in the three months to January were 2.2% higher than in the previous three months.

This was higher than in the two preceding months when this measure was below 2.0%.

The average price in January was £212,430.

Prices in the three months to January were 9.7% higher than in the same three months a year earlier.

Martin Ellis, Halifax housing economist, said: “The imbalance between supply and demand continues to exert significant upward pressure on house prices. This situation looks set to persist over the coming months.

“Further ahead, increasing affordability issues, as price increases continue to exceed wage growth, are likely to curb housing demand and cause price growth to ease.”

“Clearly these figures from the Halifax confirm that rising demand and a limited supply of housing is continuing to drive competition in the property market,” said Adrian Whittaker, sales director of New Street Mortgages.

“To keep on top of this ever more competitive environment, lenders need to empower brokers with technology that can offer them the highest levels of transparency and a mortgage application process that is both fast and consistent.

“As an industry, we also need to continue to develop innovative new mortgage products that can better address the regional challenges borrowers face across the country and secure the properties they want.”