Cheffins second property auction of this year saw 17 lots auctioned on Wednesday 21st June at the firm’s salerooms in Cambridge with a total realisation of over £2.5m. With a sale rate of 76 per cent and a number of lots achieving prices well over their guides, it was a good indicator of the continued confidence in the East Anglian property market.

For city centre property, 8 Radegund Road in Cambridge, a substantial semi-detached property with five bedrooms, achieved £655,000, £155,000 over its original guide price of £500,000. Similarly, a third floor apartment with two bedrooms in Chesterton, Cambridge sold for £220,000, achieving £50,000 over its guide price of £170,000. Both properties were sold to end-users.

A two bedroom detached cottage with a large mature garden in the pretty rural village of Helions Bumpstead on the Cambridgeshire/Suffolk/Essex borders sold for £200,000 to an owner occupier and achieved £50,000 over its original guide price. Similarly, Dove House Cottage, a two bedroom semi-detached cottage in Sawston, achieved £162,000 against its guide price of £150,000. Dove House Cottage is subject to a Rent Act Tenancy with a lifetime tenant in place, it was sold to a local investor. 

A village hall in Kentford, near Newmarket, which was built in the 1890’s was sold to a local buyer for £330,000, following competitive bidding from a number of parties. The building has outline planning permission for demolition and to be replaced by two, three-bedroom detached houses on the 0.3 acre site. It had a guide price of £250,000. Similarly, another village building which is a pre-fabricated bungalow near Sudbury, was being sold for the County Council. In derelict condition, it was sold for over double its guide price of £90,000 with the final figure achieved reaching £186,000. The property sits on a 0.3 acre plot and offers potential for development or extension, subject to planning permission. 

Another property which saw competitive bidding was 1 & 1A Oxford Street, Exning, near Newmarket. This lot included an attractive lock-up shop and two self-contained residential flats.  The building is in need of complete refurbishment but offers potential to reinstate the shop and generate a rental income from the two flats. The property has a gross internal area of 2,262 sq ft and was offered for sale with a guide price of £150,000, finally achieving £197,000 after bids from multiple parties and eventually selling to a local developer. 

In addition, over £600,000 was spent on almost 100 acres of grass and farmland at the June auction, with land achieving around £6,000 per acre on average. 

Ian Kitson, Director, Cheffins comments: “June’s auction goes to show that the East Anglian residential property market continues to achieve strong prices and attract a mix of developers, investors and end-users. Whilst the result of the General Election and the start of Brexit negotiations has created uncertainty in many of the UK’s markets, the strength of Cambridge and the surrounding area has helped demand and pricing continue to stay strong across the board. We saw buoyant bidding, with optimistic buyers and enthusiasm in the room which illustrated perseverance in the region’s growth. Developers looked to snap up options for residential development sites, whilst end-users are continually turning to the auction room to pick up cottages and family homes. The interest shown in farmland and grassland lots is also a welcome sign of confidence in the land market, which had seen a deceleration following the Brexit vote.”   

The next Cheffins property auction will take place on the 27th September at Cheffins, Clifton House, 1&2 Clifton Road, Cambridge, CB1 7EA.