With the average house price in Oxford now £217,000 and still climbing one first-time buyer is taking a risk and advertising for a stranger to share a mort- gage.

Marketing executive Fergus Cable-Alexander, 24, has been renting in east Oxford since he started studying at Oxford Brookes University six years ago.

But, despite now being in full-time employment, he said he has "no chance" of buying in east Oxford on his salary alone.

He has now signed up with the UKs first co-buyer network, sharedspaces.co.uk, which, like a property 'dating agency', matches would-be homeowners in similar circumstances, enabling them to multiply their buying potential and divide the costs of purchasing.

"It's a scary thing to do, and people think I'm mad when I tell them I'm hoping to buy a house with a stranger, but I'm prepared to do it, if it means I can get on the Oxford housing ladder," said Mr Cable-Alexander.

"I earn a good wage, but there's no way I could afford to pay the quarter of a million pounds that a terraced house costs in east Oxford at the moment it's impossible.

"Obviously the best way would be to buy with a friend, but none of my friends want that commitment at the moment, so this looks like the only way.

"I heard about the site through word of mouth and went on the site out of curiosity. I was surprised by how professional it was and how much it made sense.

"If I do find someone to buy with, I won't do it straight away. You actually rent with that person, or persons, for six months and then you decide whether you want to buy."

Sharedspaces is the brainchild of Richard Cohn, a former surveyor and estate agent.

Once registered, people are asked to create a profile including details on who they are, their likes and dislikes, and what they are looking for in a property and a buying partner.

Co-buyer hopefuls can then search through the profiles and shortlist potential co-buyers.

They can be contacted, initially using the website's anonymous email facility, to make sure the match is everything they are looking for.

If Mr Cable-Alexander does co-buy, he and his co-buyer will be encouraged to have a Deed of Trust drawn up by a solicitor.

This will ensure than if one of the partners wants to dissolve the partnership, the other will have the option of buying them out, selling up and splitting the profits, or selling their share to another party.