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Original poster

Cambridge property market hot at the moment?

24 replies

Slave2twins · 24/09/2014 15:48

Hello
We are considering a move from SW London to Cambridge and have seen a house we like that's within walking distance to the station.

I know each sale can be very individual but I was wondering what the property market is like in Cambridge in terms of demand and how quickly things sell. We are used to very high demand here in London so properties sell fast pretty much at their asking price.

I guess because it's walking distance to the station that would make it a property more in demand but I'd be interested in what local people's perception of the market is so that we can be more prudent if we put in an offer.

Thanks in advance!

OP posts:

Cantusemyusualnickname · 24/09/2014 16:16

Sizzling in Cambridge, I think. You'd be lucky to get a house at the asking price. Even when we moved there in the late 90s the EAs weren't keen to deal with us until we had sold our old house and moved into rented accommodation.
That said, there is a vast amount of new housing in the city so that ought to ease the situation.
Hope someone with very recent experience can contradict what I have written!

rosemarie04 · 24/09/2014 17:01

Thanks for posting this question. I am also wondering the same. The house I am considering making an offer on has been on the market for over a month. Do houses at the moment go at the asking price (it says offers in the range of)?
I was told by an estate agent that the market was peaking some months ago and is calming down at the moment. Any experience would be very much appreciated.

Tournesol · 24/09/2014 17:06

If it is near the station it will probably go for over asking price and very quickly. We did exact same move six years ago and got in a bidding war (but won) and paid about £10k over asking price.

Four years later we sold it within days of it being on the market and got £10k over our asking price too.

It does depend on the area if cambridge but if it is near station or Mill road area stuff goes really quickly.

Good luck, it's a great place to live!

Original poster

Slave2twins · 24/09/2014 17:33

Urgh! Thanks. It's good to know that background - even if it's not what I wanted to hear!!

The EA says 'offers around' which seems to mean 'offers 10k over this figure'.

I've arranged a second viewing at the end of the week so perhaps then I can get an idea of other interest. It's a bit tricky as although we are FTB so in theory appealing to sellers it seems that the sellers are already purchasing another property independent to this sale (must be loaded!) so they probably will take their time to get the best price.

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MiaMammaMia · 26/09/2014 11:31

OK so expect to pay plenty for a house in Cambridge, especially near the station. Number of houses available and prices peak every summer so September a good time. We made the same move 10 years ago and it seemed expensive then but our house has well more than doubled in that time so go for it...

mynameisnt · 26/09/2014 11:32

Apparently the average house here takes 27 days from going on the market to being sold! insane.

mynameisnt · 26/09/2014 11:33

Also pretty pricey near addenbrookes. Ours has over doubled in five years which I cannot believe. As a pessimist am waiting for the crash to happen the week we decide to sell

Original poster

Slave2twins · 26/09/2014 22:47

No 27 days on this property. The EA told me today that asking price offer in and it's been on the market less than a week! There are lots more viewing tomorrow too.

I think you're fine mynameisnt as so called top economists have been predicting a crash for years saying 'it can't possibly go on' yet it has and it will continue to do so.

I can well believe the great increases in property prices you've seen. We've seen 500k houses increase by 100-150k in this past year alone where we are.

I think we'll put an over offer in tomorrow but we can't go much over so I think we're out of the running.
It may well be easier to stay put in London at this rate!!

OP posts:

LocalEditorCambridge · 27/09/2014 11:25

We moved from London thinking the London market had prepared us for a competitive fast moving market but we were shocked by Cambridge.

There just isn't enough stock so properties have loads of offers on them - all way over the asking price.

mynameisnt · 27/09/2014 11:30

It has to crash at some point. Surely? I'm no economist by any means but there has to be a point where the prices just can't be sustained.

LocalEditorCambridge · 27/09/2014 12:22

It's nuts at the moment - Cambridge has increased more than any other part of the country - including London boroughs. Overseas buyers are investing in buy to lets so pushing up prices of new builds.

There's also the fact the university to compete with -we looked at a house that was bought by a college for post grads - though with their new developing North West Cambridge - it will be interesting to see if they sell some of their stock.

I've heard properties are being sold privately as people want to sell to Cambridge residents - so don't even go via estate agents.

mynameisnt · 27/09/2014 13:20

I like that. The thought of selling to Cambridge residents. No offence meant to anyone who has moved here but I want my children to feel it may be possible to stay in their home town. The investors are making that impossible at the moment.

Original poster

Slave2twins · 28/09/2014 15:37

I know, you'd like to think your own kids could stay local if they wanted to. In some areas that has proved impossible and not just because of buyers like us being pushed out of London but because of investment buyers and those buying second homes.
The UK is one of these least regulated property markers in the world hence a lot of foreign investment. It does make you wonder how bad it will be when our kids come to buy.
Sorry, such doom and gloom!
With a bit of luck I will be able to report that we've seen off the investment buyers but the fact the EA asked how we'd be paying when I put our offer in just goes to show that there must be plenty of cash buyers out there

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mabelbabel · 29/09/2014 13:05

We bought and sold in Cambridge last year. The nicest house we saw had over 20 viewings on its first day (a Saturday open day) and went for at least 25k over asking price. The house we sold (which was nothing special) had 4 credible offers above the asking price. We sold for 15k over the asking price (and the asking price was the very top end of the three valuations that we got). It may be slightly quieter now, but there still seems to be a relatively low number for sale, and prices still seem to be rising. If you like a house you see, then you will need to be prepared to offer something within 24 hours - there was no time for second viewings in our experience. At least if your name is on the table, they can come back to you for further offers if they get competing bids.

rosemarie04 · 01/10/2014 19:12

We backed out after we made an offer 10% above asking price and others were bidding more. It is very frustrating and it seems that the market hasnt calmed down. We have a good deposit and a mortgage in place and still we dont seem able to buy in Cambridge. Maybe it will get better closer to christmas?

ihatethecold · 04/10/2014 21:18

If you can live 3- 5 miles outside cambridge you will get so much more for your money.
The market isn't as frantic.
I live 6 miles outside in a village and yes sensibly priced house sell fairly quickly but anything overpriced does not sell.

chintonroad · 07/10/2014 16:23

It's interesting, the 'normal' houses go very fast but I've seen a lot of reduced 'big' houses come through on my primelocation emails - people seem to be taking a chance that someone silly will pay way over the odds, and the agents are encouraging it. Then when people say "No, actually £900k for a 3 bed terrace with no garden is nuts, even if it is in the centre of town", the prices start to come down. Still nuts, but at least the agents might start to notice that they can't put things on the market so hugely over-priced.

It is madness though - we sold our 3 bed terrace 3 yrs ago for £290, the people who bought it sold this year for £370 without doing a sausage to it.

rosemarie04 · 07/10/2014 18:02

Unfortunately, we need to stay in Cambridge as I am commuting to London for work. If we both worked in Cambridge we would have already moved to a village outside.

ihatethecold · 07/10/2014 18:39

Ok. Have you thought about being in a village north of Royston.
My dh commutes to kings cross in 35 mins from there.
We live about 7 miles north of Royston Lots of lovely villages within 2-10 miles. Cheaper also.

romseyroo · 07/10/2014 20:11

It is also depressing as the situation is beginning to fundamentally alter the character of areas when only wealthy buyers can afford to buy. As my username suggests, where we live is now a v prime area, and people who have bought near us in recent years are mostly v wealthy, kids in public school types. (We couldnt now afford in a million years to buy our house, and weve only been here 5 years.) Not suggesting that new buyers arent perfectly nice people, but all the same they are gradually displacing the mix of ages, classes and income levels that make up a balanced community.

Original poster

Slave2twins · 08/10/2014 21:05

You're so right romseyroo, the same is happening in many areas.

Just as an update to those interested in the market - we bowed out of the bidding for the house we were interested in when it reached 20k over the asking price. Gulp!

Sadly I think that Cambridge is out of our reach so we will have to move on others areas. Like Rosemarie, DH commutes to London so convenient train links are needed.
I'm not sure about a village location, I know some are lovely but it could be too much of a shock to the system coming from London. I quite like things being bustling

Chintonroad, the EA in SW London are really really egging selling on too. I've noticed a lot of reductions in asking prices recently.

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rosemarie04 · 24/04/2015 23:37

I think we are giving up on buying a house in Cambridge. I dont know if the supply is short or people are just panicking. With a young baby I find renting very stressful as we might have to move out any time. Do you know if there are any plans of building a lot more houses in Cambridge in the near future?

FurlaBag · 25/04/2015 08:11

They are building a lot of houses in Trumpington but they ain't cheap. Personally I wouldn't pay half a million for a modern three bed with a tiny garden.
If you both commute to London I would move to Hertfordshire. Hitchin or letchworth. Better services and bigger houses.

DyeInTheEar · 13/05/2015 10:21

Interesting article here about new Cambridge properties being marketed abroad - I suppose adding to the shortage & increasing prices & the buy to let market

Cambridge housing story

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