Rightmove: Average property asking price reaches record high of over £286,000

The average asking price for a home in the UK has reached an all-time high, according to new figures.

Data from property portal Rightmove shows that the average asking price for a home was £286,133 (€396,729, $427,691) in early April – 1.6% higher than the previous month and £4,351 more than the former record set in June 2014.

Rightmove explained that the new high came about as a result of a shortage of homes being put up for sale, coupled with more people looking to buy.

March proved to be the company's busiest ever month with website visits up 20% year-on-year to 115 million visitors. However, new sellers are down by 4% in 2015 so far in comparison to last year.

Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst, said: "Failure to meet house-building targets since the eighties, nineties and noughties to match forecast housing demand has been a major factor in upwards price pressure both in the property sales and private rented sectors.

"The high cost of housing is a big concern for many home-hunters, so the contents of the respective party manifestos and well thought-out sustainable solutions to the lack of affordable housing supply will be high on many voters' agendas too."

The biggest housing obstacle that the elected party has to overcome will be of that in the south of England, where the average asking price is now £84,874 higher than it was in the build-up to the 2010 election.

Unsurprisingly, London has been the driving force behind the rise, with the capital seeing an astronomical increase of £195,420 since the coalition government came into power.

Shipside continues: "With low wage inflation, the increasing cost of housing is another burden for many. The problem is especially acute in the south, particularly those areas influenced by the high demand for housing within reach of the capital."