The average home in Britain has gone up in value by 2.6% since January, according to the latest data from Zoopla.co.uk.

Over the first half of 2011, average house prices in both England and Wales have climbed 2.7% since January, with the average home in England now worth £216,260 and the average value in Wales now £152,576, according to Zoopla.co.uk, which provides value estimates on every property on the country. Property prices in Scotland have been more sluggish, growing only 1.1% since January with the average home in Scotland now worth £155,927.

Eight of the eleven regions of Britain have seen property prices rise over the last six months with only the South West, East Midlands and North East experiencing a drop in average house prices since January. The best performing region by far has been London where average house prices have climbed 5.3% since January and now stand at £408,888 compared to £388,265 at the start of the year.

Nicholas Leeming, business development director of Zoopla.co.uk, said: “The property market is back on the right track with the majority of regions having clawed back some of the ground lost at the end of last year. London is powering ahead of the pack with average values now at their highest level since January 2009. However, there is still some uncertainty over the future of the economy and it remains to be seen if the second half of this year will continue upwards as the first half of 2011 or will follow the pattern of last year and give back some of the first half gains in the latter part of the year.”