House prices in March stood at a “seasonally adjusted” £214,811, the Halifax has reported.

The figure was 2.6% up on February’s price and 10.1% up annually – the first time there  has been double digit annual inflation since 2014.

Halifx economist Martin Ellis said: “Worsening sentiment regarding the prospects for the UK economy and uncertainty ahead of the European referendum in June could result in some softening in the housing market over the next couple of months.

“Current market conditions, however, remain very tight with an acute supply/demand imbalance continuing despite an improvement in the number of properties coming on to the market for sale in recent months.

“This, together with continuing low interest rates and a healthy labour market, indicate that house price growth is set to remain robust.”