Oxford is the second most expensive city in Britain, according to new research from Halifax Estate Agents.

It said the average price of housing per square metre in Oxford was £2,170.

In a league table of 30 major UK cities, Oxford was second only to London, where housing costs £2,728 per square metre.

Brighton was third at £1,822.

Halifax said house prices in cities were continuing to rise, reflecting the increased demand for city living as well as regeneration and investment initiatives.

Oxford is one of 15 UK cities where houses now top £1,000 per square metre.

The city showed the fifth highest rise over a ten-year period from 1992 to 2002. In Brighton, prices rose 215 per cent, followed by London (190 per cent), Bath (167 per cent), Belfast (165 per cent) and Oxford (161 per cent).

The five cities with the smallest increases in house prices per square metre over the same period were Swansea (40 per cent), Inverness (39 per cent), Dundee (37 per cent), Aberdeen (28 per cent) and Hull (23 per cent).

The gap between London and other cities has widened over the past decade. In 1992, the price per square metre in London was 13 per cent higher than the second most expensive city, Oxford, and 152 per cent higher than the least expensive city, Belfast.

In 2002, house prices in London were 26 per cent higher than second-place Oxford, and 335 per cent higher than the least expensive, Hull.

Oxford also had the fifth largest price rise per square metre over the past five years (1997 to 2002).

Jane Pridgeon, of Halifax Estate Agents, said: "The popularity of city living is pushing up house prices.

"The investment in local transport and amenities are major factors."