House prices across most of Sussex rose in April – but are still down on last year.

New figures show that prices increased by as much as four per cent in some areas of the county from March to April.

But government figures from the UK House Price Index show prices across Sussex have come down over the last year as the cost-of-living crisis continues to take its toll.

In Brighton and Hove, average house prices hit £421,946 in April, a 1.1 per cent rise month on month.

However, the city has seen one of the sharpest declines in house prices in the past year, at 4.1 per cent.

First-time buyers in Brighton are paying £14,000 less for properties than a year ago – but over £50,000 more than in 2019.

The price of flats in the city rose the most over the past month but had still dropped across the last year.

The latest data shows average house prices in Sussex are highest in Chichester, where homes generally sell for £448,014.

The city is one of the only place in Sussex where house prices have risen in the past year, by 0.3 per cent, but average prices fell from March to April by 0.1 per cent.

Houses in the Adur district rose the most in Sussex in the past month, with a four per cent rise, while Lewes had the biggest fall year on year by far with more than a ten per cent decline.

Across the South East, house prices have dropped by 0.4 per cent in the past year. In comparison, house prices nationally have grown by an average of £3,000.