Property prices are continuing to rise, new Nationwide figures indicate.
Over the course of this month, the building society reveals house values rose by some 1.6 per cent to stand at an average of £160,224.
Such an increase is not only the largest growth to have been recorded since the end of December; it is also the fourth successive month rise that property prices have gone up.
Now, house values are some 3.2 per cent higher than they were at the start of 2009.
However, they remain 14.4 per cent below the prices seen at the market’s peak in October 2007.
"The exceptionally low level of interest rates offers some explanation for why house prices have not repeated the very sharp falls of 2008," Martin Gahbauer, chief economist for the building society, points out.
As such, those looking to take steps to increase the value of their home may want to consider getting to grips with DIY projects such as redecorating or tiling a bathroom.
Such moves could be advisable as the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors recently revealed that 63 per cent of surveyors saw an increase – rather than a fall – in enquiries from new buyers during July.