The rate of property development in the UK needs to be sped up, a workers representative body has claimed.
Comments from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) followed the publication of figures from the Land Registry, which revealed that the price of a home rose by 0.9 per cent during September.
The rate of growth has increased from the 0.5 per cent climb in prices recorded during August, the statistics showed.
Brendan Barber, TUC General Secretary, described the new figures as "moderately encouraging".
"What's needed now is a strong programme of building social housing which will provide much needed homes and jobs," he explained.
Mr Barber added: "In the medium term, if we are to replace the house price roller coaster with more stable growth then we need to massively increase the rate of house building. We need over 3m more houses by 2020."
The average price of property in England and Wales now stands at £158,377 while in the capital the figure has reached £314,954, 3.2 per cent below the level seen in September 2008.
Further findings from the Land Registry's monthly index showed that London saw a 1.3 per cent rise in prices, which was the largest across the UK.
