It is currently a time of cooling off for the UK housing market as Christmas approaches. However, there are still some signs that investors are remaining highly active.
A clear sign of this was the outcome of Cheffins’ auction in Cambridge last week, where £1.65m worth of sales was achieved across 13 lots. This represented a sales rate of 77%.
Activity
Ian Kitson, associate at Cheffins, said: ‘December sales often feature slightly smaller catalogues than the rest of the year, but there was good interest in a range of the lots throughout the marketing period, suggesting that buyers remain motivated regardless of the looming festive period.’[1]
‘We saw a good turnout on the day and achieved strong prices across the board. The sale of 77% appears strong compared to some of the results being reported nationally and we can attribute this to the quality of lots on offer, as well as the popularity of our region,’ he continued.[1]
Investors remain active ahead of festive period
Renovation
It appears that investment properties offering good opportunities of redevelopment attracted the most interest, with bidding and results well over guide prices across multiple lots.
The lot fetching the highest value offer on the day was a development site of 0.2 acres in Westfield Road, near Cambridge. This site had planning permission for the demolition of an existing bungalow, with the creation of two detached houses. This lot eventually sold for £419,000.
Mr Kitson also noted: ‘Renovation projects and investment opportunities were definitely the most sought-after lots of the day at this month’s auction. Previously the mainstay of property developers, we are actually seeing a shift in the types of person who look to purchase renovation projects, with a larger number of owner-occupiers entering the bidding.’[1]
[1] https://www.propertyinvestortoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2016/12/investors-remain-motivated-regardless-of-the-looming-festive-period