Asking prices for homes coming on to the market in Britain rose by a record 2.3% in February, according to the property website Rightmove.

The listing site said it was the biggest monthly increase in the 20 years it has kept records and meant the average advertised cost of a home was up by £7,785, to £348,804. Over the past 12 months, asking prices have gone up by 9.5%.

While the number of new property listings increased by 11% during the month, the number of people looking to buy a property rose by 16%, the website said.

“This new record means that average asking prices have now risen by nearly £40,000 in the two years since the pandemic started, compared to just over £9,000 in the previous two years,” a spokesperson said.

The figures show a widening gap between the number of buyers and sellers that property experts say will maintain house price inflation this year well above annual salary increases.

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