The average price of a house in the UK has risen by more than £12,500 sterling over the past year to almost £170,000, the Nationwide said today.
The building society added that prices remained firm during October, rising 0.7 per cent in the month compared with the 1.3 per cent increase seen in September.
While the annual rate of growth fell back slightly to 8 per cent - from 8.2 per cent in September - the three-monthly growth rate still picked up pace to 2.6 per cent in the period to October - the highest level since September 2004.
Despite the latest monthly increase, experts believe the UK housing market faces a period of slower growth as higher borrowing costs kick in.