House prices jumped by 2% in July alone, according to the Office for National Statistics, with the east and south-east of England seeing the biggest surge, rather than London.
The average house price rose by more than £1,000 a week, leaping from £277,000 to £282,000, a new all-time high and 16.7% above the pre-financial crisis peak in 2007.
But on a seasonally-adjusted basis, average annual house price inflation dipped to 5.2% from 5.7%, in part due to price falls in Scotland and the north-east of England.
The ONS figures tie in with more recent data from Halifax, which showed a 2.7% surge in prices during August, and will spark fresh concern about housing affordability.
John Healey, the new shadow housing minister in Jeremy Corbyn’s cabinet, tweeted on his appointment: “Housing is now a national crisis, so delighted housing now has full status in shadow cabinet and to take on job.”
Labour’s new London mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan has also put housing at the top of his agenda, listing “an affordable and secure home to rent or buy” as the first priority in his acceptance speech.
Price pressure is currently worst in the east of England. The ONS said the annual pace of house price growth is running at 8.3% in the region, the fastest in the UK. Second, at 7.4%, was Northern Ireland, which is slowly recovering from a deep slump, while the south-east is up 6.7% over the year.
But the figures also highlight a deep north-south divide, with the north-east of England registering its first year-on-year price fall since 2013. The average home in the region fell in price by 0.7% over the past 12 months. Scotland also saw price falls of 1.3%, while in Wales prices were virtually unmoved over the year at 0.3%.
The ONS noted that summer is usually a busy time in the property market, and that if the figures are seasonally adjusted the monthly rate of house price growth is 0.8%, not 2%.
Campbell Robb, Shelter’s chief executive, said: “Not addressing our dramatic shortage of homes is pushing house prices higher and higher, and a stable home further out of reach for millions of young people and families. Instead they’re trapped in expensive and insecure private renting, or stuck in childhood bedrooms.”