PRICES for a home in sought after West Dorset areas such as Dorchester heavily outstrip neighbours Weymouth and Portland according to the latest Land Registry figures for November 2005.

They show that the average price for a detached home in West Dorset has now risen to £344,428, which is nearly 30 per cent more expensive than a similar home in Weymouth and Portland for which the average price is £267,568.

The same gulf also exists for semi-detached homes with those in West Dorset costing £220,416 - well above the average for Weymouth and Portland at £186,333.

The situation was no better for buyers trying to get a toe in the homes market by snapping up a terraced home, because ones in Weymouth and Portland still cost an average of £157,472 while those in West Dorset are 24 per cent more expensive at a thumping £195,096.

And the very cheapest properties - flats and maisonettes - still have a clear divide between the two areas with those in Weymouth and Portland averaging about £132,000 against West Dorset which is much more expensive at nearly £150,000.

The Land Registry said that prices generally were slightly up for July-September 2005 compared with the same period last year.

Overall prices for Dorset residential property sales for the same period actually saw a slight fall, down more than £5,000 to £230,258.

This included detached homes down nearly £3,000 to £313,517 and flats and maisonettes down nearly £2,000 to £148,804, but semi-detached homes were up nearly £5,000 to £208,764 and terraced homes were up more than £8,000 to £177,645.

Overall homes sales dropped nearly 14 per cent in July-September 2005 compared with the same period in 2004, down from 2,790 to 2,404.

By far the biggest drop came with the sale of detached homes across the county, down nearly 24 per cent from 1,189 to just 907 for the same period.

The Land Registry said that the average price for all property types across the south west including Dorset was up for almost every sector with detached homes up nearly £8,000 to £301,481, semi-detached homes up £4,000 to £184,973 and terraced homes up £2,000 to £159,087.

The only exception to the south west upward trend for July-September 2005 compared with the same period in 2004 was flats and maisonettes, the average price for which fell more than £3,000 to £142,270.