House prices in Brighton and Hove have fallen, figures out today show.

A report by Hometrack blames the impending General Election for prolonging a slight dip in the housing market.

The company's April survey showed a fall in prices in Brighton and Hove of 0.2 per cent, making the average price of a home at £160,000.

Brighton and Hove is one of 22 cities in England and Wales to see price falls.

Despite buyers returning to the market, there is still an excess supply of unsold properties, the property research company reported.

The report comes a week after The Argus revealed high house prices were pushing families out of the city to towns and villages where property was slightly cheaper.

But that in turn had pushed prices in places such as Shoreham, Bexhill and Hastings higher.

Despite the slight fall in prices this month, experts believe it is a temporary change and prices will continue to rise once the election has passed.

John Wriglesworth, Hometrack's housing economist, said: "Election jitters are not helping but this is only temporary. Post-election, whichever party wins, there is likely to be a bounce back in the market, as the economic and political prospects become more certain, thus encouraging consumer confidence to return."

Reducing price falls suggest the market is stabilising, the report claimed.

Simon Pattenden, of Massey Property Services in Western Road, Brighton, said most of the estate agent's sales had been secured at slightly below the asking price.

He said: "Houses are probably not selling as quickly as a year or two ago ago but there are still plenty of people out there to buy. If a property is correctly priced, it will sell quickly."

First-time buyers stand little chance of getting on the property ladder in the city and are moving away from Brighton and Hove where their money will go further.

Phil Graves, spokesman for the Brighton and Hove Estate Agents Association, said the market in city centre apartments was still growing due to an influx of buyers from London. He said: "It is in suburban areas, such as Patcham, Coldean and Woodingdean, where the house prices are stabilising or even falling but there's still a very good demand for new-build city centre apartments."

A spokesman for Brighton and Hove City Council said: "A 0.2 per cent drop probably wouldn't alarm most homeowners too much and might begin to give some encouragement to people trying to get on the property ladder.

"As the city has gradually become more attractive in recent years, we've seen house price rises which aren't really sustainable, so some stability is probably welcome."

Hometrack's survey reported a fall in prices in East Sussex of 0.3 per cent and a drop of 0.2 per cent in West Sussex.

This brings the average price of a property in East Sussex down to £182,100 and that of a West Sussex home to £224,200
Monday April 25