HOUSE prices increased at their fastest rate for more than three years in November, according to a new report.

The 7.7 per cent annual increase was the biggest seen since April 2010, as strengthened demand in the market combined with a lack of homes for new buyers.

The report, from Halifax, say prices lifted 1.1 per cent month on month to £174,910 on average across the UK, in the tenth monthly increase in a row.

However, bosses say the typical price is still 12 per cent below its 2007 peak.

The number of mortgages on the market has also increased by about 40 per cent since the Government's Funding for Lending scheme, which works to boost mortgage availability, was launched last year.

Martin Ellis, Halifax housing economist, said: “Low interest, improvements in consumer confidence and official schemes, such as Funding for Lending and Help to Buy, all appear to have boosted demand.

“However, continuing pressures on household finances, as earnings fail to keep pace with consumer price inflation, are expected to remain a constraint on the rate of growth of house prices.”