According to the Halifax, the increase was the biggest jump in prices since October 2002 and comes after three months of successive falls.

The average UK home now costs £158,565.

The rise also helped reduce the annual rate at which house prices are falling, from a record 17.7% in April to 16.3% - based on the average house price during the past three months compared with the same period a year earlier.

But Halifax warned against placing too much weight on one month's figures.

However, it added that there were some "tentative indications" that activity was stabilising, albeit at a low level.