HOUSE PRICES CONTINUE TOSOAR IN SUSSEX

The national average price of property is now £186,512 but here in Sussex that figure is much higher.

According to the Nationwide House Price Index, in East Sussex, the cost of an average house is now £244,801 - a 13 per cent annual increase and a massive 31 per cent up from 10 years ago.

The average house price in West Sussex North rose to £290,476 in the last quarter, an 8 per cent increase on the same quarter last year and a huge 29 per cent up on the average local prices in 2004.

The average house prices in West Sussex South now stands at £257,651, which is 24 per cent higher than 10 years ago and eight per cent on the same quarter this time last year.

UK house prices increased by 0.7 per cent in May and were 11.1 per cent higher than May 2013. But experts have moved to play down the effect of the Government’s Help to Buy Scheme.

Robert Gardner, chief economist at Nationwide which is the country’s biggest mortgage lender, said this week: “House prices recorded their 13th successive monthly increase in May, rising by another 0.7 per cent.

“As a result, the annual pace of price growth edged up to 11.1 per cent up from 10.9 per cent the previous month.

“There have been tentative signs that activity in the housing market may be starting to moderate, with mortgage approvals in April around 17 per cent below January’s high.

“It is too early to say whether nationally this is indicative of a cooling trend in the wider market.

“The slowdown may partly be the result of the introduction of Mortgage Market Review (MMR) measures, which may be taking a few months to bed down.

“The underlying pace of activity should become more evident as we move through the summer months and the impact of MMR becomes clearer.

“However, with mortgage rates close to all-time lows and labour market conditions continuing to improve, underlying demand for homes is likely to remain strong.”