Homes in the UK worth £1 million or more are selling more quickly in Cambridge than any other part of the country, twice as fast as the national average, new research reveals.
Overall the average time it take to secure a buyer in this sector of the housing market is 99 says, up five days than last year but in Cambridge it is just 45 days, according to the analysis from property portal Rightmove.
Indeed, the top five fastest selling million pound locations are all outside of London with Edinburgh and Harpenden in joint second place taking 53 days each, followed by Bristol at 54 days.
The research also shows that in four out of 11 regions the time to secure a buyer for a million pound home has sped up. Scotland, East Midlands, North East and the North West are all selling these homes quicker than a year ago.
The million pound market has sped up most in Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire over the past year, with homes taking only 66 days to secure a buyer, compared to 112 days in 2017.
‘Hotspots like Cambridge have helped the East of England take over the mantle from London in recent years, with this region now selling million pound plus properties 12 days quicker than in the capital,’ said Rightmove’s housing market analyst Miles Shipside.
‘The Scottish million pound plus market has also picked up as the increased activity in the overall housing market in Scotland is having a positive knock on effect on the higher end, especially in cities like Edinburgh,’ he added.
The average time it takes an agent to strike a deal for a property usually increases the higher up the ladder or price bracket you go. For example, homes worth £300,000 or under take an average of just under two months at 58 days to find a buyer, while this new analysis shows that property millionaires can be waiting over three months, based on the properties that do actually sell.
Eight of the top 10 fastest hotspots are selling million pound homes more quickly than in 2017. Homes in Brixton are selling 24 days faster and those in Edinburgh are selling 23 days faster than last year. The two exceptions in the list are Cambridge, which is one day slower than last year, and Bristol, which has increased from a very speedy 36 days to 54 days.
When the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax was first introduced a few years ago it did temporarily slow down sales of homes at the top end of the market in Scotland, according to Simon Rettie, managing director of Rettie & Co in Scotland, but now confidence has returned and this has led to million pound homes selling much more quickly again.
‘The buyers are often families or professionals, or those that are looking for a second home. Over the past year the number of new homes selling in this price bracket have significantly increased as well, with no onward chains helping to speed up sales,’ Rettie explained.
Martin Walshe, head of new homes at Cheffins in Cambridge, pointed out that demand in the city has reached unprecedented levels which has pushed up values and sped up sales across all price brackets.
‘Cambridge is somewhat protected from the political and economic upheaval which has been felt across the rest of the UK. Buyers are still a mix of job movers and London commuters, and also those from the local market who continue to be incredibly active. The number of job movers coming to Cambridge is set to still increase, in fact only recently Samsung announced that it will set up a new research centre in Cambridge bringing with it new employees with deeper pockets,’ he explained.
‘Increasing numbers of commuters have had a knock-on effect on house prices across the board, but especially for those within walking distance of the train stations in Cambridge. The local market has since had to compete with those who have moved from outside of the area for work and also those who are moving out of London, all of which has constricted what is already a tight supply and therefore pushed up demand and house prices,’ he added.
