Cities house price growth increased by 3.9 per cent to £257,600 in December 2019, representing a two-year high, according to Hometrack UK.

Data collected by Hometrack UK also shows that demand is up 26 per cent, which it says exceeds the traditional new year boost.

Regionally, Edinburgh recorded the largest growth in average prices in December 2019, rising by 6.1 per cent to £242,200. This was followed by Nottingham, which rose 5.2 per cent to £159,600, and Leicester noting a 4.7 per cent incline to £181,000.

In contrast, Aberdeen recorded the greatest decline last month, falling by 3.1 per cent to £155,700. Oxford followed, dropping 0.1 per cent to £413,600.

Stone Real Estate founder and chief executive Michael Stone says: “Our larger urban hubs and cities are often the first areas of the market to show signs of decline but the same also applies when it comes to a recovery, with these areas acting as the driving force behind a market turnaround.

“This seems evident, with the latest data suggesting that the floodgates of buyer demand opened prior to Christmas and immediately after the election, with a rejuvenated level of sentiment spreading across the UK’s major cities and beyond thereafter bringing some pretty drastic rates of price growth with it.”