OXFORD has been knocked off the top of the table as the least affordable city in the UK.

According to Halifax, Winchester has taken the number one spot, with homes now 14 times annual earnings for those living and working there.

Oxford is ranked second, with people now needing to earn an average salary of £39,220 to live in the city, meaning housing affordability has slightly improved from last year.

William Kirkland, who runs the Oxford branch of Knight Frank estate agents, said: "Oxford has always suffered from a lack of stock. Available property at any one time is pretty limited.

“The city does suffer from the lack of affordable housing, there’s no question about that.”

We asked our readers on Facebook whether they think more housing is needed in Oxfordshire and this is what they said:

CHRIS SYMONDS: "No, definitely not, we are overcrowded as it is. We need to decrease the population, stop creating meaningless jobs.

"The council wants more housing so they can rake in more council tax, they should spend the revenue they have more wisely and stop wasting our money."

JULIE WALKER: "No. There are empty houses already without building so much. All our towns will be eventually joined up.

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"Permission has just been granted to build flats on a recreation area in Ladygrove so our open spaces on already established housing areas are also disappearing."

RACHEL TYLER: "How about we spend the money on building more doctor surgeries, more schools and other things within the communities we already have."

CAROLINE TYLER: "No, leave the rural fields, let us have green space."

Pat Ollenbuttel: "Oxfordshire needs affordable housing for local people."

KAREN BERRY: "We need more council houses and less student accommodation."

GLYN SAVILLE: "No, it's destroying the villages and taking away our green land."

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BOGGY MARSH: "People of Oxford have already lost this battle, houses being built in Oxford are being marketed to people who work in London earning multiples of the Oxford income.

"Typical examples, close to motorway network or train links to London."

SAM CURRAN: "Definitely. Need more social housing for all, and some of the council places need rebuilding."

PAUL WORTH: "Not at the cost of green belt. As for building on flood plains how stupid. Ban Londoners and their second homes."

JADE HUCKIN HAMMERTON: "Yes definitely until homelessness is at an all time low."

FREYA CONNELLY-WARNE: "No more. There are loads of empty houses already and every time you build more, you increase the price.

"Leave nature alone. We need nature."

SHANNON ANN MERCEDES: "Yes - affordable housing. Or make the ones already built more affordable."

SUE SOUTHEY: "Affordable housing doesn’t exist, they charge rent fees that cost more than mortgage so two large payments . Admin fees astronomical, once in can’t get out as unaffordable for most people.

"No more housing as green areas just getting smaller and smaller."

TERRI PEARCE: "We need more social housing. We don't need 1,000s more over-priced private housing."

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WENDY WAITE: "No more there's not enough shops to cope with all these houses in Grove, Wantage and Stanford and other places around the area. Ridiculous - go up north, plenty of land up there."

LEWIS WALSH: "Stop Building on green belt land, stop destroying the countryside of Oxford city."

JENFLOWER WILLIAMS: "Yes. They should be priced as actually affordable. First time buyers and homeowners alike need more housing available that isn't ridiculous prices."

WILLIAM FLOOD: "Absolutely. I work in the social care sector of mental health and housing is one of the primary problems we encounter. There is not enough affordable housing for anyone let alone some of the most vulnerable.

"You can pay extortionate private rents paying for others second and third homes but can not get a mortgage unless you have tens of thousands.

"It's only getting harder."

TREVOR OUFC BUCKINGHAM: "We need to think about infrastructure around everything we’re building at the moment."

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