Figures from UK lender Halifax show that the country's house prices rose for a sixth consecutive month in December. They rose by 1% to bring their total rise since April's low to 9.4%.
December's rise followed a revised 1.3% gain the previous month and means the average property ended the year 5.6% higher than at the start of 2009.
The recovery in Britain's housing market has surprised many commentators who predicted that the double-digit declines of 2008 would be repeated.
But Halifax stuck with its forecast that prices would flatline over the course of 2010. It said the recovery had been aided by low levels of supply, and it was uncertain that this would continue.
'The prospects for the market this year will depend on how the UK economy evolves and whether there is a significant increase in the supply of properties for sale,' it said.
Prices in the last three months of 2009 were 3.5% higher than in the third quarter - the biggest quarterly increase since the final quarter of 2006. Compared to the final quarter a year ago, prices were 1.1% higher, marking the first rise on this measure since March 2008.
Separate figures showed that new car sales in Britain jumped 38.9% in December compared with a year earlier, helped by a government-backed scheme subsidising the cost of buying vehicles.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said the number of new cars sold jumped to 150,936 last month. They had soared by almost 58% in November as the global car industry recovers following the severe economic downturn.
SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt said that British sales were boosted in December by the Scrappage Incentive Scheme and by consumers looking to avoid this month's increase in VAT.
