Property prices rose for the fourteenth successive month in February while house-building in the South West saw an above-average increase of more than a third, new surveys show.
UK house prices increased by 0.6% last month and were 9.4% higher than a year ago, according to the Nationwide's index, which also said prices remain around 3% below 2007 peak.
A separate analysis from the Land Registry, considered the most reliable guide by industry experts, put the national increase at 1% from December to January and 4.2% since a year ago.
Its market trend data for the South West recorded a 0.3% monthly climb and 2.6% annually, which left the average home worth £168,356 in England and Wales and £176,308 in the six-county region.
Nationwide's analysis, which is drawn from figures agreed at the post-survey stage of house sales, also cautioned that price rises were being fuelled by a lack of supply as the construction of new homes remained well below "pre-crisis levels".
Nationally, around 109,500 new homes were built in 2013, 38% below the level recorded in 2007 and around half the number required to meet future demand, the company said.
Despite the shortfall, in a separate report the National House Building Council (NHBC) said the number of new homes registered in the UK in January showed a 14% increase compared to the same month last year.
In total 11,489 new homes were registered - 8,312 private and 3,177 in the public sector - in January, an increase on the 10,112 last January.
In the three months up to and including January, the number of registrations was 31,482, a 26% increase on the same period last year (24,999).
However, in the six-county region, 3,275 were registered, a climb of 36% compared to the same rolling quarter last year when the figure was 2,398.
NHBC commercial director Richard Tamayo said: "Both private and public sectors reported growth on the same month in 2013 and we look forward to hopefully seeing this trend continue throughout the year to help meet the demand for new homes."
The Nationwide calculates an average rise of £15,000 in UK house prices in the past year, from £162,000 to £177,000, though much of this is driven by the booming London market where average rises of up to 14% have been seen.
Analysts also report a bigger proportion of sales are now cash transactions, partly because less mortgages are being agreed but also because investors see property as more lucrative than the lower returns offered elsewhere due to low bank interest rates.
In the South West, where second homes are popular, almost 45% of sales were cash-based, compared to an average of 35%.
