Website says sellers ask more for houses

The gap between the sums that sellers are asking and actual selling prices has also narrowed, indicating that sellers are having to negotiate less and buyers are pay ing more, Rightmove found.

Asking prices rose by 2.1 per cent a month on month to reach £244,706 on average, which is the highest figure recorded by the research for the month of April and stands just £1,500 below an all-time high set in June 2012.

Rightmove, whose records go back for more than a decade, tipped next month for a new asking price high, as a combination of confidence returning to the market this spring and a shortage of properties for sale continue the upward pressure on prices.

London was the only region where asking prices took a dip in April, falling by 0.5 per cent, although at £493,635 on average they are still 6.2 per cent higher than a year ago.

East Anglia saw the biggest month-on-month asking price jump, with a 4.4 per cent rise taking typical prices to £224,538.

Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove, said: “More estate agents are reporting more activity in more segments of the market.”

On a year-on-year basis, prices are up 0.4 per cent and the latest rise follows a new high for asking prices recorded for the month of March which was set last month.