The annual rate of growth recorded the strongest outturn since January 2023.

UK buyer demand is up 12% and sales agreed are up 13% year-on-year.

Buyer enquiries recorded the least downbeat reading since April 2022.

UK house price annual inflation has been generally slowing since July 2022, when annual inflation was 13.8%.

The number of new properties coming onto the market for sale is 15% higher than in the same period last year.

In December, the cost of an average UK home rose for the third month in a row, reaching the highest level since March 2023.