House prices in the UK jumped by 1.8% annually to an average price of £283,000 in March, HM Land Registry has revealed.

The increase equates to a £5,000 jump in house prices year-on-year.

The Government department’s house price index also showed that house prices also increased by 0.7% month-on-month.

Across the nations, Scotland recorded the highest average increase in house prices, with prices rising by 6.7% annually to £192,000.

England (£299,000) and Wales (£214,000) also saw increases in their house prices by 1% and 1.3% respectively, while Northern Ireland saw an annual increase of 4% in the first quarter of the year.

Of the English regions, Yorkshire and the Humber (£209,868) was the best performer, with house prices jumping by 5% in the 12 months to March, with London (£499,663) performing the worst, where house prices dropped by 3.4% in the same period.

The results come as the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reported that buyer demand has increased for the third consecutive month, with the largest increase in buyer demand since February 2022.

Financial planner at Quilter, Holly Tomlinson, said: "Although this increase shows that the housing market is managing to plod along despite significant economic headwinds, it continues to be unpredictable.

"High interest rates alongside ongoing cost of living pressures have continued to put the brakes on a more significant rise in house prices. Mortgage rates have fluctuated over the past few weeks due to upticks in swap rates, though this has been tempered by lenders trying to remain good value against their competitors.

"As a result, buyers have been reluctant to come to market during this period of volatility when having the rug pulled out from under them is a real possibility. This has led prospective buyers to be in a state of paralysis waiting until rates have decreased to ease affordability pressures."

Head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, Sarah Coles, added: "Buyers have finally squeezed some growth out of the property market. They haven’t exactly set the market on fire, but it they’ve warmed it up enough to push prices into positive territory for the first time in almost a year (since June 2023). It’s a much more comfortable place to be buying right now. Meanwhile, the rental market continues to get increasingly uncomfortable – just at a slightly slower rate than before.

"It tends to take around four months for a sale to go through, so March figures will reflect sentiment towards the end of 2023, when things were on the up. Banks were increasingly convinced that rate cuts were around the corner, so mortgage rates were falling. This sparked enough interest among buyers to push prices back into positive territory."

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