AVERAGE asking prices rose by 3.6 per cent (£8,307) last month, the highest monthly percentage increase recorded since the April, 2002 rise of 4.5 per cent, Rightmove has said.

Rightmove did expect some growth with the start of the Easter home moving season, but, a combination of factors have pushed average prices to a new record high.

As a result, the annual rate has increased to 15 per cent from 12.2 per cent, back to the level of September, 2004.

Rightmove said the average asking price for a property now stands at £236,490; £30,816 higher than a year ago.

Miles Shipside, commercial director, said: "Sellers’ asking prices provide one of the earliest indicators of which way the market is headed, and while a boost is to be expected around Easter, £8,000 in a month is the largest amount we have ever recorded.

"Every region saw major increases, with the minimum jump being £3,000. We have a unique set of market conditions, however, and followers of housing fortunes should not regard this as the start of another national boom.

"As prices go higher, fewer buyers can afford to get on the ladder or trade up, and that will restrain ongoing increases in many parts of the country. More affluent areas will remain the exception, however."

Another factor is the impending introduction of mandatory Home Information Packs (HIPs) after June 1.

Many estate agents, starved of stock for months, may see this as a one-off opportunity to grab market share. Some are advertising to persuade sellers who were thinking of marketing properties later in 2007 to rush to the market before June to avoid the costs of HIPs.

Rightmove believes this should later reduce upward price pressure in areas of over supply as more properties compete.