Official Land Registry figures published today show the average value of a county home dropped by 4.5 per cent in the first three months of the year.

The biggest fall in the north of the county was in East Northamptonshire, where overall prices fell by an average of 1.9 per cent. Wellingborough saw values drop by 1.4 per cent, in Kettering there was a 0.2 per cent fall but in Corby prices rose by 0.7 per cent.

The biggest falls came in the south of the county, with Daventry dropping by nearly 12 per cent and Northampton by over three per cent.

But the figures show sharper declines in different sectors of the market, with the price of semi-detached and terraced homes in the north hit hardest.

In Kettering, the average price of a semi fell to £145,903 – a fall of 4.4 per cent. In East Northamptonshire the average value was £153,198 – a fall of four per cent – and in Corby prices fell to £131,960, a drop of 2.9 per cent.

In Kettering, for example, the price of a terraced house dropped by six per cent to £118,173.

Bryan Connellan, managing director of Henderson Connellan estate agents, which has offices in Kettering, Desborough, Thrapston and Market Harborough, said: "We have had price increases consistently for the last 15 years so last year the prices peaked and I think the only reason they haven't continued to rise is because of the credit crunch and the bad news which has been promoted through the television and newspapers – it's almost a self-fulfilling prophecy.

"Because building societies haven't got enough money to lend they are clearly being more selective. They require a larger deposit so consequently that's having an effect on first-time buyers.

"What we need to see is some government incentive to help first-time buyers.

"In this area we are probably going to buck the trend because we have good links, because of where we are located in the country and our property prices are still reasonable. I think we are probably not going to be impacted by this downturn as much as some of the areas in the south."

Homeowner Jane Nichols, of Woodlands Avenue, Barton Seagrave, said she thought she would probably not achieve the selling price she would like for her semi-detached home.

She said: "The fall in house prices does worry me because we want to move house by the end of the year. As long as we have still got equity on the house we should be ok.

"But I think we will probably get less than what we want when we come to sell."