Rightmove reports hot market in July

House prices are roaring ahead at the fastest rate for five years, according to Britain's biggest property website - in direct contradiction to the most recent report from mortgage lender Halifax, which said prices were falling at their fastest rate for five years.

Figures from Rightmove, which advertises 70% of all homes for sale in estate agents across the country, have revealed that the average asking price rose by 2.9% in July, pushing the annualised rate of inflation into double digits (10.6%) for the first time in 16 months.

According to the online firm, July's increase added £6,137 to the average asking price for a home in Britain, bringing it up to £217,580. But just 10 days ago Halifax reported a 1.2% decline in average prices and warned that householders were feeling the pinch from higher utility bills and fears that interest rates were set to rise.

A Rightmove spokesman said: "We expect the large rise ... to be confirmed by other indices over the next two to three months."

The south-east is setting the pace for price rises, said Rightmove, with demand outstripping supply in what is normally a weak month for housing transactions. It said asking prices rose by 4.7% in the south-east in July alone, representing a gain of £3,000 a week for average prices in the region.

Not all parts of the country were sharing in the boom. Rightmove said average prices in Yorkshire and Humberside fell by 1.6% over the month, while the east Midlands saw a fall of 0.7%. However, the average price of a property in London rose by nearly £9,000 during the month to hit £324,216.