The UK house price index from the Office of National Statistics put Northern Ireland in pole position for annual growth with a 10.5% rise in the value of homes in May compared to 8.8% in April.
This was followed by a 5.8% rise in England showing no movement on the previous month, a 2.9% increase in Scotland up from 2.2% and 2.5% growth in Wales up from 1.3% in April.
May’s annual rise takes the average home in Northern Ireland to £152,000; England £286,000; Scotland £193,000 and Wales £170,000.
The East and South East were the main drivers of house price inflation in May, with a 9.3% increase and 8.2% rise respectively.
Prices paid by owner occupiers rose by 5.9% in the 12 months to May compared to last year and 5.1% for first-time buyers.
Jonathan Hopper, managing director of Garrington Property Finders, said: “After years of extreme polarisation, the regional disparities of the property market are steadily shrinking as price growth becomes more broadly-based.
“East England powered in part by an extraordinary surge in activity in Cambridge has snatched the crown of the English region with the fastest-growing property values.”
But Hopper said even the North East of England, an area which was hit hardest by the slump, was now clocking up price growth of nearly 2% a year.
