Annual UK house price growth accelerated to reach 4.9% in the year to January 2025, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures.
The annual rate of house price growth increased from 4.6% in the 12 months to December 2024.
Average house prices increased to £291,000 (4.8% annual growth) in England, £210,000 (6.) in Wales, and £187,000 (4.6%) in Scotland, in the 12 months to January 2025.
The average house price in Northern Ireland was £183,000 in the fourth quarter of 2024, marking a 9.0% increase compared with a year earlier.
Within England, the North East had the highest house price inflation in the 12 months to January 2025, at 9.1%, while London had the weakest growth at 2.3%.
Stamp duty discounts are set to become less generous from April, with "nil rate" bands becoming smaller. Stamp duty applies in England and Northern Ireland.
The ONS also said that the average monthly rent across the UK increased by 8.1% in the 12 months to February 2025.
This was slower than an 8.7% increase recorded in the 12 months to January 2025.
The average private rent in the UK was £1,326 a month in February 2025, which was £99 higher than a year earlier.
The figures were released as a separate ONS report showed that Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation eased by more than expected.
The rate of CPI inflation slowed to 2.8% in February, from 3% in January, following expectations from analysts that CPI inflation would be slightly higher, at 2.9% in February.
David Hollingworth, associate director at L&C Mortgages said the slowing in inflation "can have positive implications for mortgage rates if it helps to boost the market's outlook for interest rate movements."
"Today's news may not do enough to materially shift the forecasting though and although this should undoubtedly be seen as good news, it's widely anticipated that the rate of inflation will lift again in coming months," he said.
Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla said: "Rents are still rising faster than earnings and we expect rental inflation to slow further over 2025".
"House prices are rising on the back of increased activity over 2024 with 10% more sales and lower mortgage rates boosting demand, along with a rush to beat the stamp duty holiday," he said.
"Our latest Zoopla data shows a significant increase in the supply of homes coming onto the market, rising at a faster pace than sales. Together with weaker first-time buyer demand and higher buying costs for most purchases, after April we will see price growth slowing over 2025," he added.
