A lack of sellers and a huge surge in the number of people looking to buy a home has pushed the average asking price of homes coming on to the market in April up to an all-time high of just over £286,000.

The report from Rightmove further highlights Britain’s housing crisis and comes in the wake of a series of announcements by party leaders that have made property a key election theme.

March was the property portal’s busiest ever month since its launch in 2000, with the number of people looking at homes up 20% year-on-year. However, at the same time the number of new sellers listing on the website was down 4% in the first three months of the year compared with 2014.

Across the country, asking prices were up month-on-month in every region in April compared with March and were only down annually in Wales. Monthly increases in Greater London and the north east were the highest in England bringing the average asking price in those regions to £594,585 and £146,361 respectively.

Since the last election in May 2010, the average asking price in London has increased by almost 50%, or £195,000, said the report. This compares with a £6,374 (3.7%) rise in the north of the country.