House-price falls hit Oxfordshire

8:50am Wednesday 2nd July 2008

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HOUSE prices in Oxfordshire have started to tumble with experts reporting a marked downturn in activity in the last few weeks.

According to Government statistics, more than £3,000 has been cut from the average price of a property in the county between March and May.

Oxford had resisted the downturn in property values hitting other parts of the country but estate agents and homeowners said yesterday the area was starting to feel the effects of the credit crunch.

Latest Oxfordshire figures from the Land Registry show the average price of a property in May was £250,402, a drop of 1.2 per cent on the March high of £253,534.

Estate agents in Oxford have said areas of the city popular with first-time buyers like Greater Leys have seen house prices fall by as much as £35,000.

Colin Bown, senior negotiator at Charles Lawson in the Cowley Road, said: "It's a hard market at the moment. There's very few buyers.

"Central areas like East Oxford are still quite good but start going out of the city to areas like Greater Leys and prices are dropping.

"Three bedroom houses are on the market there now for £215,000 but last year they were £250,000.

"The problem is the mortgage market. One-hundred per cent mortgages have gone and 95 per cent mortgages have almost gone."

Nationally, the Nationwide Building Society average cost of a home in the UK slid by 0.9 per cent in June to stand at £172,415, the eighth month in a row its figures have fallen.

The slowdown in the housing market is causing real problems for Nick Ellacott and his wife Ali who put their two bedroom flat in Banbury Road, Kidlington, on the market almost a year ago for £190,000 after deciding they needed somewhere bigger for their one-year-old daughter, Kirsty.

At the time they had some offers about £10,000 below the asking price but the home is now on the market for £175,000 and they have not had a single inquiry in the past month and haven't shown anyone around the property for eight weeks.

His estate agents are now advising him to lower the price to £160,000.

Mr, Ellacott, 33, an advertising salesman at the The Oxford Times, said: "If you'd asked me eight or 10 months ago I'd have thought there's not a chance in hell of us lowering to £160,000 but now we're seriously considering that.

"Everybody I've spoken to that's selling says they're struggling at the moment."

Mark Charter, residential partner at Carter Jonas in Summertown, said: "Since the beginning of June, the market has been much quieter.

"The slowdown started in London at the end of last year and that is what we are beginning to see locally."

Mr Charter predicted prices would continue to fall over the next 12 to 18 months.

Recent figures from the Bank of England also show mortgage approvals for house purchases have fallen to a record low.

Ronnie Van Der Ploeg, associate director of Oxford-based property agent Savills, said: "People who have had agreements in place with the banks eight weeks ago are having to re-negotiate and companies such as Northern Rock just don't want the business."