UK house prices up more than £15,000 in 2014

Home prices in the UK rose by an average 6% in 2014, despite concerns that new regulatory policies to stop risky lending would dent demand.

The average price of a home in the UK now stands at £268,895 ($418,468, €343,188), up by £15,191 over the past year, according to property website Zoopla.

London witnessed the biggest growth in house prices in 2014 with house prices averaging £603,724 at present. House prices in the British capital rose by more than 15% or £81,619 over the past year.

Second to London, Edinburgh reported an 11.8% increase in home prices, while Aberdeen had a 9.7% growth.

Newcastle, Reading, Dundee, Bristol and Milton Keynes also recorded particularly strong performances, according to Zoopla.

In Bradford, prices rose by an average £978, the weakest-performing city in the country, followed by Hull where prices were up just £1,346. Yorkshire and the Humber was the only region where house prices fell, down by an average £2,443.

Given below are the strongest-performing cities across Britain in terms of house price increases over the last year according to Zoopla.

"The property market has maintained its momentum during 2014 with price increases across most of the country despite initial concerns that the spate of regulatory policies designed to prevent risky lending would curb demand," Zoopla spokesman, Lawrence Hall said.

"More regions this year saw property prices increase compared with last year, indicating that the property market recovery continues and that the buoyancy will likely continue into 2015."

While the government's Help to Buy scheme increased housing demand at the start of 2014, the market started to cool by the first half. In April, the government introduced stricter mortgage lending rules that required borrowers to provide lenders with more detailed information about their spending habits.