2014 has seen the strongest ever start to a year for house prices, according to Rightmove's latest House Price Index.
The average house price has risen to £243,861 in January, following a 1% rise on the previous month.
The firm described this as the largest January increase since its index began twelve years ago.
The figures present a slightly lower average price than the £248,000 recorded by the Office of National Statistics for November, but also an accelerating rate of annual growth (6.3%) thanks to a strong January.
Rightmove attributed the strong growth in prices to a low supply of housing coinciding with strong demand. It said that only 58 properties are listed for sale per agency branch – the scarcest stock of property since February 2007.
Those in areas of particularly low supply will enjoy additional pricing power, Rightmove suggests.
A number of consumers have already identified 2014 as a good time to cash in on the market conditions, with the number of newly marketed properties rising by 4% in the first week of January compared with early 2013.
Equally, though, the level of interest in properties over the first fortnight of 2014 has risen by 20% on the same period last year.
More than 1.75 million enquiries were made about moving home during this period, suggesting that demand will keep driving prices upwards.
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Sellers "Salivating"
Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst, said sellers would be “salivating” at the prospect of selling at a higher price, and this could bring additional supply back to the market.
"The sums have to stack up for most property owners before they will consider a sale; some will have to achieve a higher sales price to fund a move while others will have a figure in their heads that they’re not prepared to go below," he said.
"With buyer demand on the up and price levels having hardened, the likelihood of finding a buyer at an acceptable price will be a potential boost to new seller numbers."
He also welcomed the extension of the Help to Buy scheme, which came into effect in October.
The scheme was recently attacked by the chief executive of Legal & General, Nigel Wilson, who blamed Help to Buy for inflating demand and driving house prices in London and the South East to "absurb" levels.
However, Mr Shipside defended the scheme, suggesting that it is liberating sections of the market occupied by homeowners looking to move up the housing ladder.
"Help to Buy phase two will assist new supply further by helping to increase the availability of low-deposit mortgages for existing home-owners, finally enabling ‘trapped sellers’ to move," he said.
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