House prices in Southampton rose in April, new figures reveal – with local price changes still to reveal the impact of the pandemic.

The average house price in the area was £221,979, Land Registry figures show – a 6.5% increase from March.

This was larger than the average 0.2% rise seen across the South East, where the average price stood at £327,413.

It also means the local housing market moved in the opposite direction to the UK as a whole, where a new home cost £234,612 on average, down 0.2% on the previous month.

In Southampton, house prices rose by an average of 7.4% in the year to April.

The rise was smaller across the UK – annual house prices grew by an average of 2.6%.

In Winchester the average house price was £409,865 – a 3.0% decrease from March. But house prices rose by 0.6% in the year to April.

In New Forest average house price was £332,495 – a 1.8% decrease from March. House prices fell by 0.4% in the year to April.

In Eastleigh the average house price was £281,581 – a 1.1% decrease from March. House prices held steady in the year to April.

In Test Valley the average house price was £349,323 – a 5.0% increase from March. House prices rose by 6.8% in the year to April.

In Fareham the average house price was £305,114 – a 3.6% increase from March. House prices rose by 3.3% in the year to April.

According to the Land Registry, the latest data does not show the impact of Covid-19 on the market.

It said the process of completing a sale can take up to two months, which means the figures reflect activity before the pandemic took hold.

More recent indicators have confirmed a strong pick-up across the UK, with Halifax and Nationwide reporting month-on-month price rises in July of 1.6% and 1.7% respectively.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said the recent upswing could be partly due to the waiving of taxes on property purchases by governments across the UK.

In England, the Government's introduction of a Stamp Duty holiday on July 8 means buyers don’t have to pay the tax on the first £500,000 of a property sale until the end of March 2021.

But Simon Rubinsohn, RICS’s chief economist, said respondents to the institution’s latest survey were more cautious about the longer-term prospects for the housing market due to the winding up of support measures for the sector, and job losses.

He said: “Significantly, some contributors are now even referencing the possibility of a boom followed by a bust.

Mr Rubinsohn added that people were showing a greater interest in properties with access to outdoor spaces due to the possibility of future lockdowns.

Howard Archer, chief economic adviser to the EY Item Club, also struck a note of caution about the health of the housing market in the coming months.

He said: “Many people have already lost their jobs, despite the supportive government measures, while others will be concerned that they may still end up losing their job once the furlough scheme ends.”