Fresh figures released by the Halifax reveals that average UK property prices rose by 1% in December and 2.1% over the fourth quarter, the average cost of a property across the UK rose by 5.1% during 2005 - the lowest growth for a decade.

Property prices in Scotland delivered the greatest gains last year with a 14.8% rise.

The next biggest increases in 2005 were in Northern Ireland (14.1%), the north of England (9.1%), Yorkshire and the Humber (8.4%) and the north-west of England (7.2%).

Martin Ellis, the Halifaxs chief economist, expects the UK housing market to be "flat" during 2006.

Ellis said: "An increase in total employment of 326,000 over the past year, and Augusts interest rate cut, which has helped to keep mortgage payments close to the long-term average as a percentage of a new borrowers income, have underpinned the recent improvement in house prices.

"Another year of below-trend economic growth and the continuing high level of house prices in relation to earnings, however, should curb housing demand and prevent a renewed bout of high house price increases in 2006."