The number of people owning their own homes in Oxfordshire is set to fall over the coming five years, according to a report from forecasters Oxford Economics.

And people forced to live in rented accommodation are likely to see their rents rising due to high demand, making it harder for them to save up the deposit needed to buy a home.

Separate figures for Oxfordshire have not been published but economist Tom Rogers, who worked on the report, said house prices in South Oxfordshire were set to rise from an average of £203,000 in 2009 to £276,000 by 2015.

He added: “We think prices in the other local authority areas of Oxfordshire will rise roughly in line with South Oxfordshire.”

Home ownership in England will slump to just 63.8 per cent over the next decade, said the report, commissioned by the National Housing Federation.

In the south-east, excluding London, but including Oxfordshire, the proportion of home owners is set to drop at least four percentage points to 68 per cent, according to the report.

Oxfordshire letting agents Finders Keepers said the average monthly rent for a property on their books was now £1,078 – set to rise by about £200 a month in the next five years, according to Oxford Economics’ figures, which means tenants will be paying about £2,400 more a year in total.

Commercial director at Finders Keepers Dan Channers said: “We do have a proportion of savers on our books who are finding it increasingly hard to find the deposit to buy. But we also have transients — academics and corporate tenants. And there are a few long-term tenants who invest their money in other assets than property.”

Mr Rogers added: “There are plenty of high earners in Oxfordshire but it is the median earners who are being squeezed.”