House Prices Still Below Pre-Crisis Peaks in Most UK Regions

House prices are rising in all regions of the UK and pretty quickly at that.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the average price of a UK home hit £260,000 in April 2014 after leaping by 9.9% across the year.

In some areas this rise has been much quicker. London's average price hit £485,000 after rising by 18.7%. In others, much slower. Northern Ireland saw a 2.6% increase to £132,000.

Prices are rising because of higher demand and a constrained supply. Demand is driven by a recovering economy and cheap mortgages thanks to the Bank of England's record-low 0.5% base rate.

But, according to the ONS house price indices for the various regions, house prices are still yet to reach their pre-crisis peaks in many parts of the UK.

Here's an infographic from the ONS made from its house price data.