The report on a survey of house prices by Brighton and Hove City Council (Argus, May 3) refers to rapid increases and huge differences across the country - £120,000 for a semi-detached house locally, compared to £45,000 in South Humberside .

This is strange, because the price of building materials and builders' pay has risen very little recently and is much the same in most parts of the country.

What the survey is really referring to is an increase in land prices and differences in land prices from place to place.

Unfortunately, because housing "experts" such as those responsible for the council's survey nearly always miss this point, the problem is not recognised for what it is and no solution that could be effective is ever put forward.

-Henry Law, Queen's Gardens, Brighton