House price growth in London has accelerated for the first time in nearly a year, according to an official index.

London property values increased by 4.7 per cent in the 12 months to April, taking the average price to STG482,779 ($A814,159), data released jointly by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the Land Registry and other bodies showed.

The annual growth rate was 1.5 percentage points higher than in the year to March 2017.

The report said: “This is the first time in 11 months that the rate of price growth in London has increased.”

House price growth also bounced back across the UK generally, with a 5.6 per cent increase in the year to April 2017, up from 4.5 per cent in the year to March.

Across the UK, the average house price stood at STG220,000 in April, following a 1.6 per cent month-on-month increase.

The main contribution to the increase in UK house prices came from England, where house prices increased by 5.7 per cent over the year to April, with the average price now STG237,000.

Across Britain, a first-time buyer faces paying five per cent more for a home than a year ago, with the average price paid by the sector at STG185,266.

Commenting on the figures, Richard Snook, a senior economist at PwC, said: “These figures go against the recent trend of a Brexit-related slowdown that we predicted last year but remain consistent with our guidance of two per cent to five per cent growth in 2017 as a whole.”