LONDON Reuters Asking prices for British homes rose by 0.7 between midJune and early July compared with a month earlier, the biggest rise for the time of year since 2007 despite the scaling back of a tax break for buyers on July 1, property website Rightmove said.

FILE PHOTO A Union flag hangs across a street of houses in London, Britain June 3, 2015. REUTERSSuzanne Plunkett

FILE PHOTO A Union flag hangs across a street of houses in London, Britain June 3, 2015. REUTERSSuzanne Plunkett

FILE PHOTO A Union flag hangs across a street of houses in London, Britain June 3, 2015. REUTERSSuzanne Plunkett

The increase was aggravated by a shortage of properties on the market and pushed average asking prices to a record high for the fourth month in a row, Rightmove said. Asking prices have risen by 6.7 over the past six months.

June probably saw a record number of house sales as buyers in England and elsewhere in the United Kingdom rushed to beat a June 30 tax break deadline, Tim Bannister, Rightmoves director of property data, said.

This has left prospective purchasers with the lowest choice of homes for sale that weve ever recorded, continuing price rises, and stretched affordability, Bannister said.

Rightmove, which says it advertises 95 of homes for sale in Britain, said the imbalance between supply and demand was likely to support the market. The data was collected between June 13 and July 10.

British house prices have…