House prices are continuing to soar in Oxfordshire, with official figures showing a rise of 13 per cent in the past year.

Miles Tuely

Latest statistics from the Land Registry for the first three months of the year show the average price of a home is £180,233 compared to £158,865 for the same period in 2001.

One estate agent described the statistics as bad news for homebuyers and called for planning laws to be relaxed so more houses could be built.

Miles Tuely, head of the Oxford office of estate agents FPD Savills, said: "These figures aren't surprising and back up our own research, which shows prices have been going up steadily for the past five years. It's an alarming trend and something we don't welcome, as it makes Oxford a particularly difficult place to live in."

The high number of job vacancies was tempting people to come into the county, he added, but this fuelled demand and pushed prices up further.

"If the planning system was freed up more in the Oxford area, then people coming into this area wouldn't be faced with these problems," he said.

"We're looking at a couple of sites to the south of the city but carrying them forward is going to be very difficult to achieve."

Areas such as Banbury and Bicester, which have grown rapidly in recent years, are likely to become the new "hotspots".

The price of a detached house in the county rose from £247,155 to £280,032, a semi-detached from £136,958 to £152,773, a terraced from £126,206 to £143,612 and a flat or maisonette from £102,823 to £125,553.

Nationally, prices rose by 10 per cent, from an average of £110,570 to £121,881.