House price annual inflation was 10.1% in England, 2.1% in Wales, -6.1% in Scotland and 6.4% in Northern Ireland.
UK house prices rose 9% in the year to March 2016, up from 7.6% in the year to February 2016, figures from the Office for National Statistics show.
House price annual inflation was 10.1% in England, 2.1% in Wales, -6.1% in Scotland and 6.4% in Northern Ireland.
Annual house price increases in England were driven by an annual increase in London (13.0%), the South East (12.2%) and the East of England (12.1%).
Excluding London and the South East, UK house prices increased by 5.9% in the 12 months to March 2016.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices increased by 2.5% between February 2016 and March 2016.
In March 2016, prices paid by first-time buyers were 9.7% higher on average than in March 2015.
For owner-occupiers prices increased by 8.7% for the same period.
UK average mix-adjusted house price in March 2016 was £292,000.
Rob Weaver, director of Investments at property crowdfunding platform Property Partner, said: “London, the South East, and the East of England is the engine driving house price inflation and the divide between north and south is not just widening, it’s gaping.
“Depressingly for first-time buyers, hopes of keeping up with the market are just slipping away.
“But with niggling doubts over the imminent EU referendum, we’re likely to see a short-term dip in prices until the end of June.
“Then the fundamentals - of strong demand and scant supply, rock-bottom interest rates and healthy jobs market - should reassert themselves.”
