Cambridge, Oxford see largest increases in house prices this year

University rivals Cambridge and Oxford are topping a league table for the largest increases in house prices so far this year across Britain's top cities.

Figures released Friday revealed property prices in the country's top 20 cities have seen the highest quarterly rises for 11 years as demand for homes continues to exceed supply.

Property analysts Hometrack, reported that house prices in Cambridge crossed the double-digit line to see a 10.9-percent increase in the quarter ending July, followed by Oxford where the increase in prices was just below the 10 percent line at 9.8 percent.

Third place in the league table for price rises was London where the rise was 9.4 percent, followed by Bristol (8.6 percent) and Scotland's capital, Edinburgh (8.0 percent).

Hometrack said house prices in Britain's major cities remained on track for a 10-percent growth in 2015, higher than the 8.5-percent predicted in July.

Hometrack's UK cities price index is the only one in Britain analysing housing market trends in 20 major cities.

Their latest report shows house prices in those 20 cities have so far risen on average 8.5 percent this year, compared to an average rise across the country of 6.2 percent.

City level house prices, say Hometrack, are growing on the back of low mortgage rates, tight supply, and a 32-percent increase in property transactions since April 2015.

The average house price in Cambridge has now reached 623,355 U.S. dollars, while in Oxford it is 590,588 U.S. dollars.

London, though, remains Britain's most expensive property hotspot with an average home now costing 685,753 U.S. dollars.

Richard Donnell, Hometrack's director of research, said: "As an international city, London is out on its own, setting new highs for prices and affordability. How long this can be sustained is down to the prospects for the different segments of demand, specifically international buyers, domestic investors and domestic home owners."

Liverpool has the cheapest property prices of any of the major English cities, valued at an average 176.847 U.S. dollars. But at the bottom of the 20-city list is Scotland's second largest city, Glasgow, where the average house price is 176,220 U.S. dollars.

The continuing rise in property prices comes just days after the Council of Mortgage Lenders released data showing that British households borrowed more last month than in any month since the financial crash in 2008. Endit