THE gap between house prices and average earnings grew by more in Oxford than almost any other British city in the past 10 years, new figures reveal.

According to figures released yesterday by thinktank Centre for Cities, only London and Cambridge saw the gap widen by more.

And it confirmed the gap in Oxford is the biggest in the UK, with the average house costing 16.1 times the average yearly wage in 2014.

In 2004 the average house cost 12.8 times more than an average year's salary.

The Cities Outlook 2015 also revealed Oxford has the lowest proportion of private sector jobs in the country, with almost exactly the same number of people working for the public sector as for private companies.

And the average wage in the city was £28,860 in 2014, the eighth highest average in Britain.

Oxford City Council leader Bob Price said high house prices remained a cause for concern.

He said: "One reason for high prices is that we have a very dynamic economy and growth has been very rapid in the last 10 years.

"The other thing is that we have boundaries that are too tight for the housing that we need.

"We would aim for a proportion of housing in shared ownership and if there was more social housing that would help.

"It would not be a major solution but it would help."

Mr Price suggested the figures which suggested Oxford had the lowest proportion of private sector employees was misleading.

He said: "It is a deceptive issue because they have included the universities and they are not really public sector any more.

"I would not call them public sector in practical terms, it does not make an awful lot of sense."

Estate agent Richard Goodwin agreed with Mr Price that the gap between wages and house prices has grown wider in Oxford because of a lack of new homes.

He said: "Shortage of housing is what is really driving this.

"The lack of housing has driven the prices up.

"People come to Oxford because they want to live in a more rural area and because it is attractive that increases demand.

"The colleges and museums and the green belt and nice walks all act as selection points for people and make them want to move here."

"But the biggest thing is the lack of housing."

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