Asking prices for houses in England and Wales nudged 0.1% higher in April compared with a year ago, although agents saw the biggest monthly rise in unsold properties in nearly four years, a survey showed this morning. Property website Rightmove said April's small rise compared with a 0.9% annual gain in March and took the average asking price to £235,822 from £231,790. Asking prices on the month, a measure subject to seasonal volatility, rose by 1.7% in April, a bigger jump than the 0.8% seen in the previous month. Estate agents recorded the biggest monthly leap in unsold stock since May 2007, rising to 74 properties for every branch from 70. That reinforced the message from other surveys that the British property market is stagnating and prices are likely to fall in the coming months. London bucked the gloomy national trend, registering a 2.2% annual rise and 1.6% monthly gains in April to reach a new average asking price record of £431,013.