HOUSE prices in Brighton dropped slightly in May, latest figures have shown.

The average house price in Brighton and Hove was £394,956 in May, figures from the Land Registry show - down by 0.5 per cent from April.

However, the slight dip does not reverse the longer-term trend in the city, with almost nine per cent annual growth in house prices.

The decrease contrasts with a 1.4 per cent increase across the South East of England, and a 0.9 rise across the UK as a whole.

Owners of detached houses in Brighton and Hove faced the worst decrease in property value, dropping by 1.4 percent in May to £739,638 on average.

Semi-detached and terraced houses also saw a dip of 1.2 per cent and 0.6 per cent respectively, whilst prices for flats remained stagnant.

First-time buyers spent roughly £26,000 more on their home compared with a year ago, and £52,000 more than compared with 2016 - with an average property cost of £346,000.

Despite the slight dip in property prices, buyers in Brighton and Hove paid more than 12.8 per cent more than the average house price for South East England - £350,000.

The most expensive properties in South East England were in Elmbridge in Surrey, with an average cost of £646,000.