How is Oxford performing relative to comparable Cities in SE England?

The average house price in SE England is £323,422, that’s 4.3% compared to the corresponding period 12 months ago.  The average Oxford home is now £420,370 which is up just 2.4%. 

Comparing Oxford to 9 other Cities in the SE of England further illuminates how our City is performing.

The analysis shows that Oxford is not the most expensive City, that accolade goes to Guildford, where prices have increased 4.9% over the last 12 months reaching an average of £452,515 or 7.7% higher than Oxford.  But the best price growth was experienced in Canterbury (7.1%), Chichester (6%) and Winchester (5.4%).  Each of these Cities having experienced an increase in popularity from people seeking to move out of London, whilst retaining good access to the Capital. 

Like Oxford, several Cities have experienced a fall in the volume of completed sales transactions, Oxford is down 2% over the last 12 months, with Guildford, Portsmouth, Reading, Brighton, Milton Keynes and Winchester also experiencing fewer completed house sales.  Only Canterbury and Southampton are in strong growth phases in terms of the volume of completed sales. 

Guildford, Oxford, Reading, Winchester, and Brighton are the top 5 most expensive Cities.  Southampton, Portsmouth, Milton Keynes, and Canterbury continue to offer average prices below £300,000.

The average detached home in Oxford is £609,866 or 18% higher than the SE average.  The average Oxford Semi-detached is £412,182 (22.4% above the SE average), the average Oxford terraced home is £392,061 (41% above SE average) and the average Oxford flat is £285,228 (39.4% above the SE average).

As identified several weeks ago, asking prices for Oxford homes continues to hit all-time highs, however, most properties are selling below asking price with the typical reduction being c5%.  Any review of Rightmove for Oxford will confirm a trend of properties being listed high, with a high proportion being subject to price reductions.  Oxford estate agents bear responsibility for this trend, adopting a policy of list at any price with a view to agreeing on a price reduction later!  This is not serving Oxford vendors well, often delaying sales until a price reduction is secured and placing the property in the wrong Rightmove price banding, meaning potential buyers don’t get to see it as they would had it been listed at the correct price originally.

At Martin & Co we don’t play that game, meaning we sometime lose-out where vendors are ‘dazzled’ by a competitor’s unrealistic valuation.  We know effective sale requires the right people to see the property during the all-important first 4 weeks on market.