Concern at pace of recovery

“I am concerned about the recent buoyancy of house prices, although relative to incomes... they’re lower than they were during the peak,” Martin Weale told MPs at the Treasury Select Committee.

Very low interest rates risked pushing prices up too fast, he added.

“You would expect low interest rates to push house prices above the long-term sustainable trend,” he said. “People who are taking on mortgage debt do need to be sure that they can afford to look after it, even if interest rates eventually return to what we regard as normal levels.”

The Office for National Statistics said house prices rose 3.8 per cent in the year to August, the fastest rise since October 2010. London drove the nationwide increase as prices in the capital jumped 8.7 per cent.

The launch of a state mortgage guarantee scheme last week is expected to boost prices further.

Several top policymakers at the Bank, including Governor Mark Carney, have sounded less concerned than Mr Weale about the housing market in their recent comments.

Mr Weale also reiterated his view that pledges by central banks to keep interest rates on hold for a long period – as undertaken recently by the Bank – risk pushing up inflation expectations.

Mr Weale was the only Bank of England policymaker to vote against the guidance plan in August.