FOR three quarters of a million pounds, a househunter might expect several bedrooms, a garage and a yard.

But that is the list price of a summerhouse at the bottom of someone else’s garden – and buyers will still need to fork out up to £100,000 on finishing it off.

The eye-watering cost of the two-bedroom property in Norham Road has led some experts to believe the city has begun to match London prices.

With 700sq ft of living space, The Old Summerhouse costs about £1,000 per square foot.

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It sits in a 50ft x 50ft plot, reached by a footpath running down the side of the garden it was once part of.

Post by Oxford Mail.

 

James Cridland, of agents Cridland & Co, said: “At £1,000 per square foot, it’s an extraordinary amount of money and close to, if not matching, London prices.”

Norham Road, off Banbury Road, is one of Oxford’s most expensive streets.

And the cost of renting in the city has overtaken areas of London too, according to a report published this week.

National Housing Federation (NHF) research lists Oxford as the second most unaffordable place in the country to rent, second only to south Buckinghamshire, which includes the exclusive areas of Gerrards Cross and Chalfont St Giles.

The NHF found the cost of renting from a private landlord in Oxford has soared to £1,113 per month, or £13,356 a year, which swallows up half of an Oxford resident’s average £26,536 annual earnings.

The Old Summerhouse, believed to be pre-Second World War, has been renovated and extended by its overseas-based owner during the past five years. It includes an octagonal-shaped reception room with roof light, kitchen, bathroom and utility room.

It is connected to mains water, gas and electric supply and there is gas central heating with a boiler and radiators. But there is no off-street parking or garage and the energy rating is E, which is second from bottom.

Mr Cridland added: “The eventual owner will probably want to spend quite a lot on it to finish it to their taste, although you could move into it tomorrow.”

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