The property analytics business said the ending of the first-time buyer stamp duty holiday may have boosted demand but London, where prices rose by 0.5%, continued to drive the national headline figure.
The survey results revealed a clear divide in the strength of the market between southern England and the rest of the country.
Prices rose across two fifths of the London market and a fifth of the market in the south east. Across the midlands and northern regions there were price falls.
The time to sell averaged just less than three months at 11.6 weeks in the midlands and north, less than six weeks in London and 8.4 weeks across the regions of southern England.
The proportion of the asking price being achieved increased to 93% up by 0.5% from January 2012. As an indicator of the strength of pricing between markets, the tightest differential is to be found in London and the south east where the percentage was over 94%.
In contrast the proportion was less than 92% in the north east and north west.
Looking ahead to the rest of the year, Hometrack said that all evidence pointed to a continued firming in prices in the next few months as demand increased and supply remained suppressed.
Richard Donnell, director of research at Hometrack, said: “The trends in the housing market appear at odds with the wider economic outlook where questions remain over future growth and the impact of the recent Budget on household incomes.
“The reality is that the housing market is not firing on all cylinders nationally and against a backdrop of a low turnover environment, price growth remains sensitive to supply/demand changes.”
Donnell added that while the stamp duty holiday had a clear impact on the market the effect of what was ultimately a short term measure would fade quickly in the coming months.
He said: “The net result is that we expect prices to track sideways in the short term with the outlook for the second half of the year hinging on households’ expectations for the economy and their incomes.”
