'Still a fantastic place to buy' (From Witney Gazette)

'Still a fantastic place to buy'

2:19pm Wednesday 2nd January 2008 in Witney By Francesca Bardsley

HOUSE prices in Oxford increased by £110 a day, and were among the fastest-earning in the country last year.

Figures released by Nationwide, Britain's biggest building society, showed house prices in the city rose by 13 per cent.

The average-priced house in Oxford now costs £339,404, with the city ranked fourth in a survey of areas with the biggest percentage rise, after Belfast, Aberdeen, and London - and just beating neighbouring Reading and St Albans.

However, in the last three months of the year 2007, house prices across Oxfordshire fell more than anywhere else in the country.

The average house price in the UK fell by 0.3 per cent - but in Oxfordshire values tumbled by five times as much - 1.5 per cent.

Chris Dixie, sales negotiator at Oxford-based estate agents Cluttons, said: "We have found people who have wanted to move have had to be prepared to deal on price in a way perhaps they haven't had to do before.

"We have not been seeing the amazing prices we were seeing in spring and summer.

"There is still a significant demand for decent sized family homes in north and east Oxford, but there have been more flats coming on to the market, meaning prices may have dropped.

"I don't think we have seen a uniform reduction, but certain things have been a lot trickier to sell than they have been previously."

He said it was common for estate agents to be quiet in the run-up to Christmas - but said December had been busier than October and November.

Mr Dixie added: "People are looking at everything, they are reading about the property market, and they are just being a bit more cautious.

"It's just a cooling off period.

"I think this year we'll just see a levelling out, and I still think Oxfordshire is a fantastic place to buy."

Mr Dixie said he did not believe predictions that house prices could drop by as much as ten per cent would come true.

He added: "We have certainly agreed sales under the asking price, but not hugely significant ones - £5,000 or £10,000, rather than £20,000 or £30,000."

The average time taken to sell a house in the UK has now risen to 8.3 weeks.

Hometrack director of research, Richard Donnell, said: "The second half of the year saw a major reversal in confidence on the back of higher interest rates and concerns over the financial markets.

"High transaction costs, a weak outlook for prices, and continued uncertainty among vendors creates the potential for a major lack of housing coming to the market in the first quarter of this year."