People desperate to move to Brighton and Hove have helped push the average price of a property in the city to more than £150,000.

The cost of the average home in the city is £150,963, which is £32,136 more than the national average of £118,827.

According to the latest property prices published by the Land Registry today, buyers in Brighton and Hove have to splash out an average of £117,911 for a flat in the city.

The price has soared from last year, when the average was £87,585.

An average detached home in the city costs £243,616, compared to £242,146 last year. An average semi-detached home costs £170,422 compared to £150,918 last year.

A terraced home costs £171,199, compared to £148,531 last year.

Phil Graves, of Graves Jenkins, which has offices in Brighton, said: "At the end of 2000 we were surprised when the average price of a terraced house in Brighton and Hove topped £100,000.

"It seems incredible that all properties in the city are selling for more than £100,000 and people are paying those prices.

"I think there will be stabilisation this year. I can't see a slump and I can't see a massive price rise in 2002."

The figures indicate that the overall cost of buying a home in West Sussex is more than in neighbouring areas including East Sussex and Brighton and Hove.

In East Sussex the average price of a home is £128,355. An average detached home costs £200,125, a semi-detached £127,406, a terrace £103,546 and a flat £68,779.

The average price for a home in West Sussex is £153,429. A detached house costs £243,493, a semi-detached £128,580, a terrace £118,158 and a flat £90,690.