Average asking prices jumped by 1.8% in May, according to Rightmove.

This has taken the price of properties coming to the market to a new record high of £333,564 – up by over £5,000 in the last month alone.

However the property portal noted that pace of growth has been wildly different across the country, from a rise of only 0.2% in London since the first lockdown to a 13% increase in Wales.

The North West (+11.1%) and Yorkshire & the Humber (+10.5%) have also seen asking prices rocket.

Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property data, said: “It is the regions of Britain further north that are leading the way, with some degree of catching up between average prices in London and the north. While the gap remains very large, with average prices in London still 2.9 times higher than those in the north, this ratio is now at its smallest since 2013.

“The pandemic has given a greater focus on the home, and in 2020 we saw a surge in southern coastal and rural areas. So far 2021 is proving to be the year of the northern mover, not only satisfying their pent-up housing needs, but in doing so also narrowing some of the huge price gap with London.”

Mark Manning, managing director of Yorkshire-based estate agent Manning Stainton, added: “Across our region we’re seeing a continued surge in the volume of new buyers entering the market. Of particular note is the vast number of those buyers arriving from other destinations around the country, particularly the south.”