The OECD has warned that UK house prices were rising at an alarming rate when compared to rents and household income.

Data from the Bank of England shows the number of people taking out mortgages in February has fallen for the first time in the last year.

House prices were up 6.8% in January since a year earlier after a lost decade of building leaves the UK with a significant shortfall in homes.

Mortgage lender Halifax reports a 2.4% rise in house prices for February with pressure on the government to cancel Help to Buy scheme.

A new government study of the English Housing Survey shows private renting has reached 4 million homes and now exceeds council renting.

The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) has said mortgage approvals are up 57% on the previous year and the highest since September 2007.

The rate of house building has boosted UK construction but will still be short of the 240,000 homes needed each year.

Mark Carney, the Governor the Bank of England played down a possible housing bubble.

The mortgage industry expects to see further demand for mortgages among consumers in 2014 and that demand remains healthy rather than excessive.

The construction activity index rose more than expected helped by a surge in house building in the UK.

As fears of a house price bubble loom, Governor Mark Carney stops mortgage lending offered by the Funding for Lending scheme.

The Treasury Select Committee has asked the Bank of England to clarify its Help to Buy role as property prices rise.