House prices in Brighton and Hove will continue to rocket in the next few months as the benefits of city status are felt, estate agents have forecast.

The publicity and knock-on effects, along with improvements in rail services, are expected to see many people searching for new homes within the city boundaries.

Brighton and Hove is expected to buck the national trend and see property prices rise by more than the four per cent predicted for the rest of the country in 2001.

The Halifax has already signalled 2001 will be a healthy year for the property market underpinned by favourable economic conditions and a background of affordability.

Mark Robinson, sales manager of Hadleys estate agents in Queen's Road, Brighton, said: "The predicted nationwide four per cent price rise is quite conservative and I think by the spring there will be a lot of interest in Brighton and Hove which will see a more than average rise in property prices.

"The city status will give us a higher profile and add to the general feelgood factor.

"There will be a lot of favourable articles about the new city on the South Coast and this will boost our profile."

This year, the average price of a detached home in Brighton and Hove rose by more than £90,000 to £275,575 in figures compiled by the Land Registry.