British house prices show strong monthly gain

British house prices increased by 1 percent month-on-month in April, the largest monthly gain since last June, said Nationwide, a leading mortgage lender on Wednesday.

The annual pace of house price growth increased for the first time in seven months, edging up to 5.2 percent from 5.1 percent in March, it added.

The average house price before seasonally adjustment stood at 193,048 pounds (297,844 U.S. dollars) in April.

"Record high employment combined with record low mortgage rates means the conditions are in place for further price gains this year," said Matthew Pointon, property economist at Capital Economics.

He said that house price gains were being driven by an acute lack of homes on the market.

"Furthermore, the cut to stamp duty for most buyers late last year will also have boosted buyers' purchasing power," he added.