NAEA: Nationwide May house prices

Following Nationwide's announcement about the increase in house prices, Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) said: "It is too early to talk of a recovered housing market, but our own figures certainly demonstrate an upturn in activity over the past few months. The number of people looking for property has soared and last month our members reported an increase in the number of sales they were making - up to 10 per agent, against a low point of around five at points last year.

"The Government now should do all it can to help sustain these positive measures, specifically by reviewing HIPs and stamp duty, both of which we believe dampen activity across the market, particularly for first time buyers."