Oxford, Cambridge House Prices to Suffer the Most From State Spending Cuts
House prices in Oxford and Cambridge may suffer more from government spending cuts than anywhere else in England and Wales because of the university towns’ high proportion of public-sector workers.
About 46 percent of workers in Oxford are employed by the state, the most among all municipalities, according to a survey published today by property website Zoopla.co.uk. Average house prices have already fallen almost 4 percent in Oxford in the past three years.
The area least likely to be hurt by the cuts is the City of London, the capital’s main financial district, where 4 percent of workers are in the public sector.
In Cambridge, the proportion is 43 percent. Public-sector employees account for 40 percent or more of the workforce in nine municipalities in England and Wales.
The government’s comprehensive spending review, intended to slash most ministerial budgets by a quarter to reduce the deficit, will be presented to parliament on Oct. 20. The measures will probably lead to job losses and homeowners struggling to pay mortgages, Zoopla said.
Municipal Area % Workforce in Current Average 3-Year
Public Sector Property Value % Change
(Pounds)
Top Five
Oxford 46 326,396 -3.6
Denbighshire 45 146,289 -9.1
Cambridge 43 306,521 -6.9
Middlesbrough 43 117,623 -8.5
Hastings 43 164,255 -5.2
Bottom Five
City of London 4 468,962 3.1
Crawley 12 211,235 -5.8
Corby 13 132,191 -8.6
N. Warwickshire 14 173,686 -9.3
Broxbourne 14 260,362 -6.0
Source: Zoopla.co.uk, Office of National Statistics.
To contact the reporter on this story: Peter Woodifield in Edinburgh at pwoodifield@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Blackman at ablackman@bloomberg.net.
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