Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, said: "The average property price has reached a record high of £293,999, surpassing the previous peak of £293,507 set in June 2022, towards the end of the pandemic-era 'race for space'.

What is the Bank of England base rate and how does it affect me?

"Looking ahead, borrowing constraints remain a challenge for many buyers.

"Following the Budget, markets expect the Bank of England to cut rates more slowly than previously anticipated, which could keep mortgage costs higher for longer.

"New policies like higher stamp duty for second home buyers and a return to previous thresholds for first-time buyers might also affect demand.

"While we expect house prices to keep growing, it will likely be at a modest pace for the rest of this year and into next."

How to get the best deal on your mortgage

IF you're looking for a traditional type of mortgage, getting the best rates depends entirely on what's available at any given time.

There are several ways to land the best deal.

Usually the larger the deposit you have the lower the rate you can get.

If you're remortgaging and your loan-to-value ratio (LTV) has changed, you'll get access to better rates than before.

Your LTV will go down if your outstanding mortgage is lower and/or your home's value is higher.

A change to your credit score or a better salary could also help you access better rates.

And if you're nearing the end of a fixed deal soon it's worth looking for new deals now.

You can lock in current deals sometimes up to six months before your current deal ends.

Leaving a fixed deal early will usually come with an early exit fee, so you want to avoid this extra cost.

But depending on the cost and how much you could save by switching versus sticking, it could be worth paying to leave the deal - but compare the costs first.

To find the best deal use a mortgage comparison tool to see what's available.

You can also go to a mortgage broker who can compare a much larger range of deals for you.

Some will charge an extra fee but there are plenty who give advice for free and get paid only on commission from the lender.

You'll also need to factor in fees for the mortgage, though some have no fees at all.

You can add the fee - sometimes more than £1,000 - to the cost of the mortgage, but be aware that means you'll pay interest on it and so will cost more in the long term.

You can use a mortgage calculator to see how much you could borrow.

Remember you'll have to pass the lender's strict eligibility criteria too, which will include affordability checks and looking at your credit file.

You may also need to provide documents such as utility bills, proof of benefits, your last three month's payslips, passports and bank statements.

Who else tracks house prices?

Halifax is part of Lloyds Group, which is the UK's biggest mortgage lender.

Its monthly house price index is based on the mortgage data it holds and has been going since 1983.

It's one of several key barometers of the property market.

The official measure of house prices is from the Office for National Statistics, which uses data from the Land Registry where the actual sold price is recorded.

This is the most accurate of all the indices, but the figures come out three months after the homes are sold, so there's a big time lag.

Halifax and Nationwide each publish a monthly index tracking the average prices of homes on which they provide mortgages.

While they do adjust their figures to iron out big outliers, both lenders measure average house prices based on the properties they see.

As it's based on mortgage approvals, this doesn't include "cash buyers" who buy without needing a mortgage.

Rightmove also publishes monthly house price data.

Its data is based on asking prices from the property listings on its website.

The property website doesn't consider the price a property sold for, like the ONS Land Registry, which could end up being higher or lower - and some might not even sell at all.