MORE homeowners in Oxford are selling their properties than ever before according to a new study.

Property listings on the market have risen by 17.5 per cent from June to July and Oxford has been placed in the top 10 areas of having the most homes on the market in the country.

Latest figures showed 396 properties in the city were on sale, compared to the previous month, which saw a total of 337 homes listed.

A lack of new homes being built, a house price “wave” and lower interest rates have been suggested as reasons for the rise, along with the passing of the General Election.

Ajay Kumar, branch manager at Connells estate agents in Headington, said the property market usually starts to “wind down” for the summer holidays, but added that they were busier than usual.

He said: “The rise in the number of property listings could be because in the past few weeks there has been a forecast for interest rates to rise, which means everyone could be trying to take advantage of the lower interest rates.”

Online estate agent HouseSimple.com has compiled a Property Supply Index looking at the number of new properties listed every week on the property portal Rightmove, in more than 100 towns and cities across the UK.

The figures show Oxford saw the second highest increase in the south with Swindon recording an increase of 47.3 per cent.

Alex Gosling, chief executive of HouseSimple.com, said: “A stampede of sellers coming to market was expected after the General Election result, but that stampede never materialised.

“This may have been a case of waiting to see if property prices might start to rise rapidly with the confidence generated by a stable, majority government. Now it appears sellers have waited long enough, and we’re starting to see some movement.”

Oxford University professor and housing expert Danny Dorling said it was “hard to believe” the election and the rise in listings were related.

He added: “17.5 per cent in a month is very unusual. I have not heard of a rise that high before in just one month.”