Property asking prices rose by 3.1 per cent in February – except in the Midlands.

Nationally new sellers priced high to see a 0.3 per cent January rise.

The average property on the market in England and Wales cost £230,030 — broadly unchanged from a year earlier, said property website Rightmove.

In the West Midlands and East Midlands, the only areas where prices did not rise in the month, asking prices fell by 1.4 per cent and 0.1 per cent respectively.

Rightmove said that, despite price falls in 2010, many sellers were still unwilling or unable to drop asking prices in a market with lack of demand.

The typical mass-market buyer had insufficient equity or mortgage finance to trade up the property ladder.

Miles Shipside, Rightmove director, said only about 530,000 mortgages were taken out in 2010, with 1.3 million properties coming on the market — highlighting imbalance between supply and demand putting downward pressure on prices.

Yorkshire and Humberside saw the biggest rise at 6.7 per cent, followed by the North at 5.4 per cent and East Anglia at 5.3 per cent.

The Home Builders Federation said council planning permissions fell with 33,000 homes approved for construction — about half the level being approved each quarter four years ago.