UK house prices rose by 10.5% in the 12 months to May, the ONS has said.

However, inflation was driven by London and the south-east, and in nine out of 12 regions in the UK, house prices were still below their peak of January 2008.

House price annual inflation was 20.1% in London, 11% in England as a whole, 6.5% in Wales, 3.6% in Scotland but minus 0.7% in Northern Ireland.

Excluding London and the south-east, UK house prices increased by 6.4%, but with a number of places experiencing little growth.

The ONS says “average mix-adjusted” house prices in May stood at £274,000 in England, £166,000 in Wales, £134,000 in Northern Ireland and £188,000 in Scotland.

In London, the average house price was £492,000 while the north-east had the lowest average house price at £150,000.

Excluding London and the south-east, the average UK mix-adjusted house price was £200,000.

David Newnes, director of Reeds Rains and Your Move, said that housing policy makers should look across the UK as a whole.

He said: “Places like Lancashire and York are still experiencing annual growth below 1%. There are also new signs that growth is beginning to slow as we move into summer.

“In London, prices have begun to fall at the upper end of the market, and the City of Westminster and the City of London have now seen house prices drop in the last 12 months. In four of the top five most expensive London boroughs, average house prices have dipped below their respective peak levels.”

The ONS figures bear little resemblance to the Government’s other official supplier of data, the Land Registry, which said the average house price across England and Wales in May was £172,035.