Oxfordshire property prices rise by 10 per cent in latest figures

Land Registry figures show the average property price in the county in July 2020 was £361,131.

By May – when the latest figures are available – the average price had risen to £390,288, a 10.4 per cent increase.

First time buyers were spending £293,708 in July 2020, whereas in May, they were spending £320,501 – up 10.1 per cent.

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Brendan Kay, owner of Parkers Properties in Witney, said demand outweighing supply was impacting the market.

He said: “The reason we’re seeing these prices in West Oxfordshire is an increased demand and lower supply.

“Looking across the board, agents have fewer properties to sell or rent.

“The local issue here is affordability, house prices far exceed wage growth.

“Covid has had a major impact in terms of driving demand – we’re seeing people looking to move out of London and come here to West Oxfordshire.

“They want office space to work from home, a garden and the ability to commute to London if they need to.”

Brendan Kay, owner of Parkers Properties in Witney

Across the UK, house prices reached 30 per cent higher on average last month than a previous market peak in 2007.

The average UK house price in June was £230,700, according to Zoopla.

This was up from £177,300 in December.

Mr Kay stressed the need to address these house price statistics with a pinch of salt however.

“What we’re seeing now are not the latest figures,” he said.

“Although it’s the latest data, it’s actually quite historic.

“It would be in January when those sales were agreed and then May by the time the properties were sold.

“What we’re actually seeing now is prices levelling off and not the eyewatering prices from earlier in the year.

“The majority of prices now are not skyrocketed.”

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Speaking about the national figures, Grainne Gilmore, head of research at Zoopla, reiterated what Mr Kay said and highlighted the effect of the stamp duty holiday.

She said: “Demand for houses is still outstripping demand for flats.

“To a certain extent, this trend will have been augmented by the stamp duty holiday, with bigger savings on offer for larger properties – typically houses.

“But underneath this, there is a continued drum beat of demand for more space among buyers, both inside and outside, funnelling demand towards houses, resulting in stronger price growth for these properties.”