October witnessed a slight rise in house prices, serving to lift the annual growth into positive territory for the first time in half a year.

New figures provided by Nationwide revealed these costs edged up by 0.4 per cent across the month, with the value of a typical home standing 0.8 per cent higher than that recorded in the same period in 2010.

Robert Gardner, chief economist at the organisation - which is run by a senior management team under an elected Board of Directors - noted the findings are encouraging, especially considering the current unstable economic climate.

However, the industry figure claimed the increase does not alter the fact the UK housing market is "treading water" at present.

Mr Gardner pointed out: "Property transaction levels remain subdued and prices essentially flat compared to last year."

He added the outlook for the coming months remains uncertain, as economic recovery is likely to remain sluggish and house price growth expected to stay soft.