London loses its status as most expensive RE market in the UK

The great capital has been displaced from its title as the most unaffordable market in the U.K.

Famous for its university, Oxford has become so expensive that, as The Financial Times reports, the median house prices are almost 17 times the median person’s income. With soaring prices and a static supply in the historical town — due to a combination of local building codes and a defined city limit that prevents sprawl — the majority of students leave the area after graduating, which, according to the Centre for Cities is attributing in part to local real estate.

Further evidence of the difficulty: bedroom communities around the college town are seeing prices soar as those who do stay to work in Oxford search for a more affordable housing price. One example, the town of Woodstock, saw its average sales price last August increase about 6 percent year-on-year, though that average price tag is still 10 percent lower that those of homes in Oxford. [Financial Times] — Erin Hudson