Property analysts expect house prices to cool in the months ahead as inflation and the cost of living crisis gets hold – but they rose at the fastest pace since 2004 in March.

According to the mortgage provider Nationwide – annual property price growth increased to 14.3 per cent this month.

Property prices are now 21 per cent higher than before the pandemic struck in early 2020 with the price of a typical UK home having climbed to a new record high of £265,312

This was an increase of over £33,000 in the past year with prices now 21 per cent higher than before the pandemic struck in early 2020.

Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s Chief Economist said: “The housing market has retained a surprising amount of momentum given the mounting pressure on household budgets and the steady rise in borrowing costs but the continued buoyancy of housing demand may in part be explained by strong labour market conditions”.

The average flat price was up £24,000 – but detached properties, which have benefitted from strong demand for more space following increased working from home, have increased by nearly £68,000 since the onset of the pandemic.

London was the weakest performer in the UK again despite a noticeable uptick in annual price growth in the first quarter to 7.4 per cent, compared with 4.2 per cent in Q4 2021. In the three months to March, house prices accelerated in all regions except Wales and Northern Ireland.

The general expectation from property analysts, including Gardner – is that property price growth will start to cool as the intensity of the cost of living crisis becomes more embedded – especially towards the winter when energy prices really bite into household disposable incomes. Some believe there will be price falls as there is growing concern that the escalating cost of living might go given hit energy, transport, food and essentials prices even harder than predicted.

Last month’s property price report was very much the same with overall price growth reaching an annualised 12.6 per cent