Property prices rose 13.5% in the year to July, figures have shown.

The Land Registry said this was the biggest increase since 1996 when it began collecting the figures.

The urgent need for new affordable housing could not be clearer

Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman

The average cost of a home in England and Wales has now risen to �133,247 from �117,398 a year ago.

The figures - the most comprehensive measure of property prices - collate the price paid for every English and Welsh home sold in the April to June period.

The Land Registry's figures indicate prices are rising less rapidly than some mortgage lenders have suggested.

Halifax and Nationwide reports have said that house prices are rising by about 20% a year.

'Out of control'

In the Land Registry survey, all major regions of England and Wales showed an increase in average prices, but prices rose fastest in East Anglia and the South West of England.

In East Anglia prices have risen by 19.8% over the past year.

The average price of a property is now �120,315, nearly �20,000 more than a year ago.

In the South West, property prices have increased by 18.4%.

Edward Davey MP, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, said failure by the government to take action over spiralling house prices, and ensure low cost housing for key workers, might be "its undoing".

"The housing market is out of control," he said.

"The urgent need for new affordable housing could not be clearer."

In London, house prices grew by 13.2%, compared with a national average of 13.5%, taking the price of the average home in the capital to �232,830, from �205,831 a year ago.

Full details of house prices by region can be found on the Land Registry's website (see link on right).

All regions

Prices increased by 19.82% in the year to July.

The average home now costs �120,315 compared to �100,413 a year ago.

The average home now costs �136,881 compared to �115,633 a year ago.

The average home now costs �96,636 compared to �83,381 a year ago.

The average home now costs �79,397 compared to �68,963 a year ago.

The average home now costs �168,111 - well above the national average.

Average prices have increased from �147,617 a year ago - a rise of about �20,000.

The average home now costs �83,505 - up from �73,408 a year ago.

The average home now costs �232,830 - up from �205,831 a year ago.

The average property now costs �73,444 - up from �65,773 a year ago.

But prices still rose by 11.23%. The average home now costs �81,364 - up from �73,150 a year ago.

Further information:

The Land Registry produces a quarterly property price survey.

The figures represent all completed property transactions in England and Wales.

The surveys produced by Nationwide and Halifax, however, are based on mortgage approvals.

This may partly explain why the Land Registry's figures tend to be more conservative than those produced by the lenders.

Further price data by household type and local authority can be found on the Land Registry's website (see link on right).