Basildon in Essex was singled out by the Office for National Statistics as the local authority with the strongest house price growth over the last year, having seen a 19.9% annual jump in property values. It takes the average house price there to £301,633.

Slough saw the next highest growth, with property values there surging by 19.6%.

Barking and Dagenham has seen the third strongest price growth, recording an 18.2% annual increase. Luton and East Renfrewshire completed the top five, both recording annual price growth of 17.7%.

The City of London was the local authority with the biggest fall in house prices over the last year. Property values have decreased by 8.8% annually there, to reach £712,936 on average.

Kensington and Chelsea in London - which typically has the most expensive property prices in the UK - has also seen a particularly strong price fall over the last year, with values there falling by 4.9% to reach £1.2 million on average.