It will come as no surprise to anyone who has hankered over living in Henley-on-Thames.

With an average price of almost £412,000 -- and this does not include millionaire's row or those bijou residences set in rambling acres along the river front -- it makes Oxford at £263,954 look like the poor relation.

In contrast, Banbury finds itself among the worst four performers in the house-price stakes, where the average figure has fallen to £185,403 from just short of £190,000.

What conclusions can be drawn? None -- apart from the fact that you need more than a few quid in the bank to think about living in Henley and still need more than the minimum wage to aspire to a home of your own in Banbury.

We have to live with the fact that Oxfordshire is an expensive county in which to live and that finding staff for our schools, hospitals and police force is difficult when pay is influenced by Whitehall.

Let us hope 2004 brings some sanity into the market.