British interest rates look set to rise for the first time in nearly four years next week after figures today showed the housing market was re-accelerating.
Nationwide Building Society said house prices rose by 2 per cent during October - the biggest jump for more than a year and double September's 1 per cent gain.
At the same time annual house price inflation increased for the first time in seven months, rising to 16.1 per cent for the year to the end of October from 15.5 per cent the previous month.
The figures come just days after data from the Bank of England showed mortgage lending reached a new high during September, while the value of loans approved also set a new record, suggesting borrowing was picking up rather than slowing down.
These factors, combined with recent evidence that the economy was recovering, make it increasingly likely the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee will vote to raise rates for the first time since February 2000 when it meets next week.
Mr John Butler, an economist at HSBC, said: "The resurgence in the housing market and consumer appetite for debt since July's rate cut seems to cement a rate hike at next week's meeting and indeed will raise fears that rates may need to rise substantially before the consumer cools."
He added that he expected rates to be raised by 0.25 per cent from their current 48-year low of 3.5 per cent, but a 0.5 per cent increase was now more likely than rates being kept on hold.