All I want for Christmas is... a new home?

But a National Housing Federation report reveals that the average home in Oxfordshire now costs £311,944- 13.8 times average earnings

Home Truths 2011- Fixing Our Broken Housing Market, states boldly that 'the South East housing market is broken' and 'for both young and old housing choices are severely restricted without access to considerable wealth.'

It will come as no surprise to those looking for a home to buy in Oxfordshire that the current average house price across the county is £311,944, 13.8 times the median income of £22, 656.  The situation is even more extreme in South Oxfordshire, with the average price a whopping £368,746, or 15.5 times median income.  Cherwell is the 'least' expensive district, with an average price of £251,052, or 11.3 times income.

Yet it is not only potential home buyers who are being locked out of the housing market.  Recent research by the Oxfordshire Rural Housing Partnership in parishes where Housing Needs Surveys have been undertaken has revealed significant financial obstacles for would-be renters.  In Kirtlington, Steeple Aston and Bletchingdon, for example, 50-90% of those expressing an interest in a rented property would be unable to afford the average market rent for the desired property size.   

With rental and property costs continuing to rise, it is important that the Oxfordshire Rural Housing Partnership continues to deliver affordable homes for local people.  2011 has been a very successful year for the ORHP, with Rural Exception Site developments completed in Hornton, Blewbury, East Hendred, Chadlington, Stanton Harcourt, Eynsham, and Wootton.  These have provided 95 much-needed homes for rent and shared ownership.  Several other developments are currently on-site, while ORCC's Rural Housing Enablers are working with many other communities to help ensure that the supply of new affordable homes continues to flow.

The National Housing Federation report, Home Truths 2011, can be accessed here.