UK house prices soared up 9.5 per cent in 2015 - Halifax

The lender said the last month alone saw prices rise by 1.7 per cent, bringing the average price of a home to £208,286.

However, the data is at odds with other lenders, such as the Nationwide, which put the rate of increase at the much lower figure of 4.5 per cent in 2015 - less than half the Halifax estimate.

Halifax’s housing economist, Martin Ellis, said one reason for the sharp increase was the continuing shortage of property for sale.

“This situation is unlikely to change significantly in the short term, resulting in continuing upward pressure on prices,” he said.

The last time UK house prices rose so quickly was in 2006, when values soared by 9.9 per cent.

Newham, in East London, was the town with the largest increase in 2015.

Prices there rose by 22 per cent in 2015, compared to 12 per cent for London as a whole.