Oxford property prices hold-up well, with some notable exceptions

Rightmove has become a dominant channel for house sales and lettings for the UK market.  And, it is a great source of comparative data.  Now the summer is over, and as we move into autumn, a lot of people will be looking to move house before Christmas.  The agents know that this is an important window of opportunity, and they will out there knocking on doors and posting leaflets to identify people who want to move to get them signed up.  Too often the home owners approach conversations with agents without sound knowledge about what their house is worth.  So what has been going on in and around Oxford over the last 12 months?

The average price of homes sold on Rightmove in Oxford over the last 12 months was £471,092.  That’s compared to the national average of £214,000.  So Oxford is an expensive place to buy property.  Indeed, the City has the largest gap between average house price and average salary for a UK city.  Oxford achieved prices are 4% up on average compared with the previous 12 months.

But anyone who lives in Oxford knows that the local property market is an amalgamation of sub-markets, and to get the true picture it is necessary to analyse each sub-market to gain the true picture.

So top of the pops in terms of average achieved selling price is Summertown (£802,558), followed by Boars Hill (£706,096), Cumnor Hill (£451,849) and Botley (£450,839).  More affordable areas include Kidlington (£373,801), Cowley (£367,624) and Greater Leys (£254,303).

However, to gain a true insight, it is important to consider how achieved sale prices have changed over the last 12 months.  And that reveals a different picture.  Kidlington is top performer with average achieved prices rising 24% over the last 12 months.  Followed by Marston (up 13%), Botley and Greater Leys (both up 12%).  At the other end of the is Wolvercote (down 8%) and Boars Hill (down 22%).

So what are the factors that have influenced Oxford property prices, causing such a spread of performance across the local market?

Kidlington is performing well responding to the investment in the local infrastructure, offering residents easy access to central Oxford due to its proximity to Oxford Parkway, its excellent bus routes and the investment in new homes.  Marston continues to benefit from strong demand created by its proximity to John Radcliffe and its wider medical campus.  Botley’s performance reflects its convenience for commuting in and out of Oxford by Road and by rail, and Greater Leys remains a terrific location for people taking their first step on Oxford’s housing ladder and its proximity to some of the City’s major employers.

At the other end of the list Wolvercote has had a bad year blighted by the roadworks that have created lines of traffic and general inconvenience.  It will be interesting to see over the coming 12 months if it bounces back once the chaos subsides.  The 22% reduction in prices achieved in Boars Hill, needs to be considered with some caution, as the volume of transactions is low and so the data can swing wildly depending on the actual properties that are marketed.  However, there is some evidence to suggest that top-end properties have been most impacted by Brexit and economic uncertainty.

Too often home buyers, home owners and buy to let investors do not equip themselves with the facts.  They don’t do their homework to understand Oxford-wide and sub-market trends for capital growth.  Buy to let landlords are too often obsessed with rental yield, when Oxford offers great opportunities to combine strong yields with excellent capital appreciation.  House buyers can often overlook factors which could adversely impact capital growth, limiting their options when the time comes for their next move.