House prices rose in April, according to the latest official measure, adding to a picture of a gradual improvement in the housing market nationwide set by other closely watched indices and the latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

The Department for Communities and Local Government said average house prices , adjusted for the nation’s mix of housing stock, rose by 1.1 per cent in April after a much more modest rise in March, leaving prices overall 13.0 per cent lower than where they were on average one year earlier.