House prices in Brighton and Hove are soaring by more than £700 a week.

The boom shows no sign of slowing, despite growing predictions of a collapse in the property market.

Low interest rates and an influx of buyers from London continue to fuel the inflation, according to figures released by the Land Registry today.

The price of a detached house in the city has topped the £300,000 mark for the first time.

Such homes are fetching an average of £310,710.

But the biggest rise has been for desirable terraced houses -

up from £165,893 to £204,067 in a year, an increase of £734 a week.

The average price of a property in Brighton and Hove is now £181,184, up 18.4 per cent from last year.

The rise has forced people out to other parts of Sussex, which are also booming.

In East Sussex the average price has risen 23.5 per cent to £163,931 in a year. A typical detached house costs £254,654.

In West Sussex the average figure is now £184,268, up 20.5 per cent.

Andrew Novak, of Hove based estate agents Bridges Residential, said: "About 40 per cent of our business is people coming down from London who want city-centre properties.

"There is still a very good market out there and it shows little sign of slowing down."