House prices in Sussex are continuing to soar with the value of some homes rocketing by more than £40,000 in a year.

Prices have risen for all types of housing as buyers have taken advantage of low interest rates.

Last week's 0.25 per cent rise was the first in four years but estate agents predict it will have little effect.

Figures from the Land Registry today show the average price of a detached house in Worthing shot up from £214,523 to £258,164 - an increase of more than 20 per cent.

Semi-detached homes now average £195,586 compared to £149,717 and flat prices in the town now top £115,966 compared to £89,022.

In the Adur district the cost of a detached family home has increased by more than £43,000 from £210,655 to £254,080.

Flats and maisonettes now cost on average £118,125 compared to £88,565 12 months ago.

Detached homes in Chichester have increased from £306,670 to £379,728, a rise of more than £73,000. And in the Arun district an average family home now costs £290,214 compared to £232,281.

The figures covering July to September show sales in Sussex slowed slightly, in common with the rest of the UK.

Phil Graves, of estate agents Graves Jenkins, said: "There is no sign of the market softening in residential or commercial properties.

"Brighton and Hove and Sussex are seen as hip places to live by people of all ages and that popularity shows no sign of diminishing.

"I am surprised there has not been a greater price increase in the flat market in Brighton and Hove as more and more younger people are moving in.

"We will wait and see what happens with the rise in interest rates after the traditional slowing down in the market after Christmas. I can't see a real slump coming as there still seem to be plenty of people around to pay the asking prices.

"I doubt if we will get back to the early Nineties, with house price falls and negative equity."

The Land Registry figures are regarded as the most accurate.

Compared to 2002, East and West Sussex and Brighton and Hove have seen prices increase by more than ten per cent.

This compares to the Greater London rise of 5.4 per cent.

The average sale price in Brighton and Hove was £198,274 compared to £181,184 between July September 2002, making a house more expensive than in London boroughs Barking and Dagenham, Bexley, Havering, Sutton and Waltham Forest.

The average price of properties in East Sussex has gone up by more than £20,000 in the past year from £163,931 to £184,898 and in West Sussex by more than £24,000 from £184,268 to £208,314.