New research has revealed that the average asking price for a property in the UK rose by 3.2 per cent in February.

According to Rightmove, the average price increased from £230,428 in January to £237,856 in February.

The firm suggested that the cost of home information packs may have put some sellers off placing their homes on the market, while others may be testing market prices.

Miles Shipside, commercial director of Rightmove, said: "Most sellers obviously want to achieve as much as possible for their property, and traditionally they choose to test a more ambitious price early in the year as they have plenty of time to adjust it down later."

In related news, Halifax recently reported that the average house price in the UK rose by £7,628 over the course of the last year.

The company predicted that house prices would be "flat" this year and that the Bank of England's monetary policy committee would look to cut the base at least twice.

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