Halifax: House prices up 7.7% as property values jump £2,000 in November Average price hits £174,910 - up from £171,991 in just one month Latest rise marks tenth monthly increase in a row Osborne announces 'oligarch tax' to cool London's overheated market By Rachel Rickard Straus House prices continued their upward march last month, rising by 7.7 per cent in the three months to November compared to the previous year. Stronger demand combined with a lack of homes for would-be buyers to choose from continued to fuel a rise in prices, according to the monthly Halifax House Price index. The rise saw the average price hit £174,910 after prices rose by 1.1 per cent in one month alone - adding £1,950 to property values.. Rocketing: Annual house price inflation has soared over the past year, Halifax's figures show, 12 months ago prices were falling. The latest rise marks the tenth monthly increase in a row. But the typical price is still 12 per cent below its 2007 peak, the latest housing market study said. It comes as the Office for Budget Responsibility admitted that government support was driving property prices higher and raised its forecast in yesterday's Autumn Statement. It now believes house prices will rise by 10 per cent more than originally expected by 2018. It sees inflation hitting 5 per cent in 2013, peaking at 7.2 per cent in 2015, and then slipping back below 5 per cent the next year before settling at just under 4 per cent in 2017 and 2018. Housing economist Martin Ellis said that low interest rates, improvements in consumer confidence and government schemes such as Funding for Lending and Help to Buy have boosted demand. "However, continuing pressures on household finances, as earnings fail to keep pace with consumer price inflation, are expected to remain a constraint on the rate of growth of house prices," he warned. Mr Ellis added that there are signs of a revival in housebuilding, which is likely to curb upward pressure on prices over the medium and long term. Private sector housing starts in England rose by ten per cent between the second and third quarter of 2013 to 26,380 - the highest level since 2008 and 28 per cent higher than in 2012. A new phase of the Government's flagship Help to Buy scheme was launched in October to give more people with low deposits a helping hand on to or up the housing ladder. The scheme offers state-backed loans to people with deposits as low as 5 per cent. The Bank of England has said that it is not worried about a new housing bubble emerging, but is keeping a close eye on the property market. It moved last week, however, to shift the support away from the housing market that it has been offering by pumping cheap money through lenders to homebuyers. On the up: The OBR has changed its predictions for house price rises, with a peak of 7.2% in 2015. The Funding for Lending scheme which has been sent mortgage rates diving by about 1 per cent and lifted mortgage availability is being targeted away from homeowners to help small businesses. Lenders will not be able to get more funds from the scheme by increasing mortgage lending, although plenty of cheap cash remains in the initial pot they were given. The number of mortgages on the market has increased by around 40 per cent since Funding for Lending was launched last year. It allows banks and building societies to borrow at a rate as low as 0.75 per cent from the Bank. Yesterday, the Government announced plans for overseas property investors to have to pay the so-called "oligarch tax" when they sell UK properties under plans to cool London's overheated housing market. Crucially, however, it will not kick in until 2015 and only gains after that point will be taxed. Strong house price increases in central London have been put down to wealthy foreign investors looking for a safe haven to place their cash. High inflation has also filtered out to wider London and the commuter belt, with agents reporting brisk business, and boom time tactics, such as sealed bids. How the have changed: House prices have leaped in the past year, the Halifax House Price Index shows Howard Archer, economist at IHS Global Insight, forecast that the rise in prices is far from over. 'House prices look set to see further strong increases over the coming months despite the Bank of England ending Funding for Lending support for mortgage lending, and they could very well see another marked rise in December and then increase by around 8 per cent in 2014,' he said. While these projected house price rises are expected to be driven by increases in London (especially) and parts of the South East, house prices are likely to strengthen appreciably in most regions and to make gains across the country. While the strength of house price rises in London is becoming an increasing concern and pushing up the overall national increase in house prices, we are currently some way off from an overall housing market bubble emerging.