More homeowners are cashing in on their bricks-and-mortar by selling up and going mobile.

Soaring house prices in Oxfordshire have seen almost a doubling of the market value of 'park homes' on private and rented sites in the past five years.

Now some couples, particularly those facing retirement, are choosing to sell off their former family homes at a premium price for an upmarket park home, and pocketing the substantial cash difference.

The alternative home-owning market is also booming in another direction.

In today's top news we reveal that rocketing house prices have led to a boom in narrowboat sales, as people plump for cheaper options.

Second-hand boats are being snapped up for as little as £20,000 by people seeking economy with a more pleasant and relaxed lifestyle -- often within walking distance of a town or city centre and all its amenities.

Bottom-of-the-market mobile homes can also be bought for about the same price, although people selling even a modest home for about £120,000 without the burden of a mortgage can comfortably afford a park home with all mod cons for about half the price.

Electricity costs the same as for a standard family house, while bottled gas costs about £25 per week during winter, though less during milder months.

In addition, the park home-dweller can expect to pay between £18 and £20 a week for rental of the pitch, whether from a private or local authority landlord.

Kelvin Newton, of Brookwood Estate Agents in Banbury Road, Kidlington, which has built up a specialist reputation in the mobile home market, confirmed that business was booming.

Mr Newton, who has been in the business for 30 years, said sales of park homes closely followed the traditional housing market.

"People have been saying for ages that we're due for a drop in property prices, but it hasn't happened yet," he said.

"At the moment the market is quite strong, and we have more buyers than sellers.

"We've probably got a third of the number of park homes on our books than we had five years ago. Now there are fewer properties on the market, there are more people chasing them.

"People used to think that buying a mobile home was like buying a car, and that it would go down in price, but in fact prices have almost doubled in the past five years.

"The cheapest can be had for just under £20,000, while at the other end of the market we have one on our books on a site at Shillingford near Wallingford, going for £129,950."

One resident of the Woodland Park site between Kennington and Radley, who has lived in mobile homes for the past 14 years, has enjoyed seeing the value of his home almost double since he bought it new for £50,000 just four years ago.

The man, who asked not to be named, said: "Pricewise it's a lot cheaper than buying a house, and some people who have sold their houses make a tidy profit to allow them a good standard of living.

"Normally, if you're buying new, you go direct to the manufacturers and sit down with their planners.

"They show you a basic design and then they customise it to your own specifications.

"I paid £50,000 for mine four years ago, and I reckon it would fetch around £95,000 on the market now.

"You can do as much to the inside of it as you can to a house, but the main disadvantage as far as I'm concerned is that there's no mains gas. British Gas will only supply it if there's a certain percentage of residents willing to subscribe, and on the last survey they did here they didn't get the number they wanted."

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