House prices in England and Wales are higher that they were during the pre-crash credit bubble according to data from the UK's Land Registry.

Homes in the UK appreciated by more than one percent in June alone - the average in the two regions was £181,619, the highest in over 20 years.

This compares to a pre-crash high of £180,983 in November 2007.

In London house prices increased by 9.2 percent - with the average house costing £481,820.

Newham in east London experienced the sharpest increase - up by 16 percent in 12 months.

The Western boroughs of Chelsea and Kensington seem to have plateaued with prices increasing by only 0.7 percent during the year.

Inflated prices in the UK, and favourable sterling/euro exchange rates could tempt more British investors into the Irish market.

Moody's Analytics warned last week the unprecedented economic measures like quantitative easing could be contributing to the emergence of a new property bubble in Europe - with a particular warning about high prices in the London market.