THE combined effects of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics has slowed the Oxfordshire property market, an expert has claimed.

Figures for July from the Government’s Land Registry show the average price of a home stands at £240,260, a fall of 0.2 per cent on the previous month.

But year on year, values have risen by two per cent.

Graham MacDonald, director with Oxford estate agents Kemp & Kemp, said: “Half of people who buy houses have to move for job or family reasons, but the other half may just see something they want to buy and their decision is always influenced by other things.

“There have been a lot of distractions this year such as the Jubilee and the Olympics and that has meant fewer people looking around.”

The two consecutive price falls follow figures in May which showed values had reached a four-year high in Oxfordshire.

Mark Charter, partner at agents Carter Jonas in Summertown, said: “We are waiting for the schools to go back and the autumn market to kick in. The real test will be what happens in the next two or three weeks.”