When Britain voted to leave the European Union in June 2016, many experts predicted serious problems for the UK housing market. Forecasts warned of falling house prices, reduced buyer confidence and a prolonged slowdown in property transactions. Yet a decade later, the story has been very different.

There is a quiet unspoken problem sitting inside the Burghfield Common property market.

For some homebuyers, the kitchen is the deal maker. For others, it is the number of bedrooms, the school catchment or the distance to the railway station. Yet for a sizeable group of buyers, the garden matters just as much as the house itself. Across Bicester and its surrounding villages, there are 654 homes with large gardens.

Blackwater's private rental market has changed considerably over the last five years. In 2021, the average monthly rent in Blackwater was £1,045. So far in 2026, that figure stands at £1,481. That is a rise of 41.7%. To put that into context, the average UK rent increased from £1,390 in 2021 to £1,744 in 2026, a rise of 25.5%.