LOCAL people are being priced out of the Oxfordshire property market, according to experts.

And it’s mainly down to a ‘ripple effect’ as unaffordable prices in the capital drive Londoners out to cheaper areas, such as the county.

House prices have rocketed by almost 11 per cent in the past 12 months.

In contrast, Oxfordshire prices rose by less than half of that, at four per cent.

Now, agents Savills say 20 per cent of its sales of Oxfordshire homes are to buyers from the capital, while rival agents Carter Jonas put the figure nearer 25 per cent.

The London factor is pushing up prices, with the average property price for Oxfordshire reaching an all-time high of £253,349 last month, according to Land Registry figures.

That’s up from £228,772 five years ago and £196,278 in 2004.

A shortage of quality homes in the most sought-after areas, such as central north Oxford, is driving a return to sealed bids and gazumping.

One property in the Summertown area, on the market for £250,000, attracted 12 bids last month, seven of which were at the full asking price.

It sold for more than the asking price.

Chris Dixie, of the Summertown branch of agents Breckon & Breckon, which handled the sale, said: “This is happening with everything. We are back to a market that we were in 2006-2007 where you can’t take things on to the market quick enough.”

Mark Charter, of Carter Jonas, said his firm’s London office was seeing clients who bought in the capital during 2009, 2010 or 2011 for £1m or £1.25m whose homes are now worth £1.75m.

He said: “As prices expand way beyond what can be afforded by local families earning their money locally, they are being pushed out a few more stops along the London Underground every time and, eventually, that pushes them out to Oxfordshire.

“If you were in London in 2007 or 2008 before the crash and wanted to move out to Oxfordshire, the houses you looked at while at the top of the market probably aren’t at that level now but your London house has probably gone up in value by half as much again, so your buying potential is much greater.

“If you could afford a modest village house in 2007 or 2008, you can now afford a large farmhouse with land.

“Londoners’ buying power has increased significantly more than local buying power and people are really noticing that this year.

“This is the year more people are deciding to step out of London because they can afford something really special here.”