House prices increased by 1.7 per cent – more than the average for the South East region – in Oxford in February, new figures show.

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 1.6 per cent over the last year.

The average Oxford house price in February was £460,277, Land Registry figures show – a 1.7 per cent increase on January.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the South East, where prices increased 1.1 per cent, and Oxford was above the 0.4 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Oxford rose by £7,400 – putting the area sixth among the South East’s 64 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

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The highest annual growth in the region was in Winchester, where property prices increased on average by 6.1 per cent, to £490,000.

At the other end of the scale, properties in Gosport lost 12.2 per cent of their value, giving an average price of £234,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Oxford spent an average of £405,600 on their property – £5,300 more than a year ago, and £40,000 more than in February 2019.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £511,000 on average in February – 26 per cent more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Oxford in February – they increased 1.9 per cent, to £456,005 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 1.6 per cent.

Among other types of property:

Detached: up 1.3 per cent monthly; up 2 per cent annually; £935,468 average

Semi-detached: up 1.7 per cent monthly; up 2.4 per cent annually; £588,922 average

Flats: up 1.7 per cent monthly; up 0.7 per cent annually; £289,802 average

How do property prices in Oxford compare?

Buyers paid 23.4 per cent more than the average price in the South East (£373,000) in February for a property in Oxford. Across the South East, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £281,000.

The most expensive properties in the South East were in Elmbridge – £654,000 on average, and 1.4 times the price as in Oxford. Elmbridge properties cost 2.8 times the price as homes in Southampton (£232,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea.

Factfile

Average property price in February

Oxford: £460,277

The South East: £373,018

UK: £280,660

Annual change to February

Oxford: +1.6%

The South East: -2.1%

UK: -0.2%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the South East

Winchester: +6.1%

Gosport: -12.2%