GROWING numbers of foreigners are buying up some of Oxford’s hottest property, with wealthy Russians increasingly choosing the city.

Many of the houses are being bought as second homes or as investment properties, and are not being lived in for much of the year.

Estate agents told the Oxford Mail that 40 per cent of the city’s top properties were being sold to international buyers, and 15 per cent of them to Russians.

Hamptons International senior manager Mike Simkin said: “What we are seeing is prices increasing in London, and buyers looking further afield where there are still sustainable prices, and Oxford has that. He added: “Over the last 12 months there has been a significant increase international buyers. OXFORD MAIL ...

“A lot are looking for second homes, most significantly in the OX2 postcode – North Oxford and Central North Oxford – and also some of the villages.

“But while we get a lot of inquiries from international buyers, the majority of the buyers are still from the UK.”

Knight Frank associate Harriet Gascoigne-Pees said the interest was strongest among houses valued at £2.5m or more.

A lot of them were second homes, she added.