HOUSE prices in some part of Oxfordshire have increased by more than 150 per cent in just five years.

Official figures show that homeowners are likely to rake in healthy profits on property they bought before or during 2012 – regardless of where it is in the county.

In Oxford, a part of St Margaret’s ward in the north of the city, the median price paid for a home in December 2012 was £350,000.

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At the end of December 2017, that price had soared to £885,000 – an increase of 153 per cent.

Even in the cheapest part of the county to buy a home – in a part of Banbury's Grimsbury and Hightown – prices have increased by 44 per cent over that period.

The figures demonstrate what councils already know and are trying to fix: that many Oxfordshire residents are being priced out of the housing market.

Andrew Gant, Liberal Democrat group leader on Oxford City Council, said the figures were ‘astonishing’.

He added: “Our leaders on the Growth Board have no clue how to provide housing for real people – just massive swathes of high-priced units with paltry amounts of social housing. Precious Green Belt wasted. New thinking is needed.”

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Meanwhile, the builders of a key housing project at Barton Park – partnered by Oxford City Council – insisted it was progressing well, despite criticism that homes price out many potential house buyers.

The new housing figures were taken from the Office for National Statistics’ annual release. Each ward in Oxfordshire is broken down into smaller parts, called lower layer super output areas (LSOA), of about 1,500 people.

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They show that the most expensive median house at the end of last year was in the Woodcote and Rotherfield ward in South Oxfordshire between Wallingford and Henley – priced at £1.275m.

In that ward, just a few miles north of Theresa May's house at Sonning, Berkshire, prices increased by 90.2 per cent from December 2012 until December 2017. The median price at the start of that period was £670,500.

In Oxford meanwhile, figures from North ward show homes in a LSOA there increased by 93 per cent – to £1.215m.

About four miles away, house building at Barton Park continues, with 20 of a total of 237 completed at the first neighbourhood which has been called Mosaics.

Of those homes – which include one, two and three-bedroom flats and two, three, four and five-bedroom houses – 35 have been reserved.

Greg Hill, the deputy chief executive of Hill, which is building the first homes at Barton Park, said: “Mosaics is progressing extremely well. Our first residents moved into their new homes in spring and a large number of further residents will be occupying over the coming months.

“Sales are progressing extremely well with strong interest from the local market reflecting the quality of the scheme and the exceptional standard of property at Mosaics."

Mr Hill said the full Mosaics phase would not be complete until early 2021. By the time Barton Park is completed, 885 homes will have been built. Redrow Homes will also build homes at the site.

The scheme was criticised after prices of £299,950 for a one-bedroom flat and £360,000 for a two-bedroom flat were revealed last year.

Oxfordshire's six councils have agreed to grant permission for a total of 100,000 new homes in the county by 2031, with more set to follow as part of building in the Oxford to Cambridge arc.

The ONS figures also show which place is – at least according to the median figures – the most expensive part of Oxfordshire districts to buy a home today.

In Cherwell, Launton and Otmoor ward contains the priciest homes, some of which have increased by a third over the five-year period. In 2012, the median home would have cost £450,000; at the end of last year, that had soared to £600,000.

Despite those increasing figures at the end of the year, recent months have seen a slowdown in price rises, partly attributed to Brexit, a rate change by the Bank of England and other political uncertainty.

In May, Lawrence Bowles, associate director of the research team at land agents Savills, said: "The growth across the UK is as we would expect.

"Things do seem to be slowing down. That matches what we are seeing in the housing market, with fewer properties being marketed.”

Meanwhile, parts of Botley and Sunningwell were the most expensive areas in the Vale of White Horse, but some parts showed a decrease in the prices. In the most expensive part, prices rose by 59 per cent. Prices hiked there from a median price of £332,475 to £527,500.

In West Oxfordshire, the most expensive place to buy a home was in Hailey, Minster Lovell and Leafield. Prices there have now topped £520,000 – an increase of 36.8 per cent since December 2012.