THE average price of a detached house in the Harrogate district costs £343,577, figures from the national Land Registry reveal.

Semi-detached properties are costing £198,282, terraced properties are fetching an average of £173,924 and flats and maisonettes cost £178,230.

The Harrogate area is part of the so-called Golden Triangle for high property prices which also covers part of north Leeds and the York area.

The figures are in the annual planning monitoring report by Harrogate Borough Council.

Land Registry figures show the overall price for a property in the Harrogate district, which includes Knaresborough, Ripon, Boroughbridge, Masham and Pateley Bridge, is £224,638, while the average North Yorkshire price is £189,984 and the Yorkshire-Humber region is £130,610.

In March 2002, the average detached property prices in the Harrogate district were £236,750. By December 2003, they had broken the £300,000 barrier, at £301,153.

At the same time, semi-detached homes were costing £168,009, terraced homes £152,340 and flats £157,340.

Harrogate council's planning monitoring report says the district has continued to experience high levels of housing growth in recent years.

This is because the area offers a "most attractive residential location".

It adds: "The district has relatively high house prices by regional and national standards, which present difficulties for local people wishing to enter the housing market and secure affordable housing."

Meanwhile, the emphasis on affordable housing is underlined by house completions between April 1996 and this March, of 658 affordable homes and conversions.