Cambridge housing bubble

MoneyTreeMe

Hi.
Cambridge has the worst housing market in the UK as a lot of people want to live there.
There doesn't seem to be any properties added at the lowest end of the market in months even though there are a lot of studio and 1 bed flats around the city. I check RightMove daily.
There's only a handful of studio and 1 bed flats under 200k and they are 'basic' and on the outer edges of the city.
I've noticed a trend. Buyers list their flats for sale and if they don't get an offer or offer they are happy with, they take their flat off the market. They then relist their flat one month later at a slightly lower price.  Does this mean prices in Cambridge are falling?
When lockdown lifts, will more flats come onto the market there?

moneysavinghero

Sellers list their flats for sale not the buyers. No this does not mean prices in Cambridge as a whole are falling - just the listing prices of these flats that you are seeing.

theoretica

Sounds rather like my thoughts about the Cambridge market 20 years ago, which doesn't lead me to expect big changes.

stevenbecca

As i said on your other post, you won't get anything decent on cambridge for 200k, its just about the most science rich city on the country it has one of world's best universities and has the largest hospital in Europe housing the best heart hospital in the world and one of the brain surgery wards in the world. price's are because people that want to live in the city can mostly afford to. there's a reason every road is jammed up twice a day. 

Alter_ego

stevenbecca said:

As i said on your other post, you won't get anything decent on cambridge for 200k, its just about the most science rich city on the country it has one of world's best universities and has the largest hospital in Europe housing the best heart hospital in the world and one of the brain surgery wards in the world. price's are because people that want to live in the city can mostly afford to. there's a reason every road is jammed up twice a day. 

Yeah, Oxford as well

MoneyTreeMe

stevenbecca said:

As i said on your other post, you won't get anything decent on cambridge for 200k, its just about the most science rich city on the country it has one of world's best universities and has the largest hospital in Europe housing the best heart hospital in the world and one of the brain surgery wards in the world. price's are because people that want to live in the city can mostly afford to. there's a reason every road is jammed up twice a day. 

With Brexit many of those workers will have or be leaving.
And there is supposed to be new towns built on the outskirts soon, providing new 'affordable' housing.
Will this cause prices to drop in the main city and by how much? Or maybe those new houses will making living there more attractive and push prices higher?
But how much does a tech worker earn?  Certainly not enough to afford a 500k house outright, maybe not even a mortgage on a single salary, which is what the average price is in Cambridge, thereabouts. It makes you wonder who is buying those houses - maybe mostly cash rich investors from London? -  or tech workers who come from rich families who have a lot of financial support. 

Crashy_Time

MoneyTreeMe said:

stevenbecca said:

As i said on your other post, you won't get anything decent on cambridge for 200k, its just about the most science rich city on the country it has one of world's best universities and has the largest hospital in Europe housing the best heart hospital in the world and one of the brain surgery wards in the world. price's are because people that want to live in the city can mostly afford to. there's a reason every road is jammed up twice a day. 

With Brexit many of those workers will have or be leaving.
And there is supposed to be new towns built on the outskirts soon, providing new 'affordable' housing.
Will this cause prices to drop in the main city and by how much? Or maybe those new houses will making living there more attractive and push prices higher?
But how much does a tech worker earn?  Certainly not enough to afford a 500k house outright, maybe not even a mortgage on a single salary, which is what the average price is in Cambridge, thereabouts. It makes you wonder who is buying those houses - maybe mostly cash rich investors from London? -  or tech workers who come from rich families who have a lot of financial support. 

Yes, so if that bubble bursts so does the Cambridge one, and if mortgage rates rise all bubbles around the country will burst.

lincroft1710

If you're expecting a price drop in Cambridge in the short term, think again!

HobgoblinBT

Give up trying to buy a home in Cambridge if your budget is only £200k.  Prices outside of Cambridge are much more reasonable if you are prepared to commute.  Look at towns/villages on the guided bus route, or Ely.

Salemicus

With Brexit many of those workers will have or be leaving.

I wouldn't count on it.

And there is supposed to be new towns built on the outskirts soon, providing new 'affordable' housing. Will this cause prices to drop in the main city and by how much? Or maybe those new houses will making living there more attractive and push prices higher?

I expect it to have minimal effect. You can already buy high-quality housing within commuting distance of Cambridge far cheaper than in the city itself. Cambridge is far more expensive because of its amenities - the people who are prepared to pay a premium to live there aren't going to be attracted by "affordable" housing in a less convenient location. 

But how much does a tech worker earn?  Certainly not enough to afford a 500k house outright, maybe not even a mortgage on a single salary, which is what the average price is in Cambridge, thereabouts. It makes you wonder who is buying those houses - maybe mostly cash rich investors from London? -  or tech workers who come from rich families who have a lot of financial support.

What's a "tech" worker? That could mean almost anything. A quick Google suggests the average software engineer in Cambridge is making £55k. But Cambridge also has biotech, science, etc. It's a wide net.

Remember that the "average" worker doesn't own an "average" house in Cambridge. The people living in Cambridge itself are above average in earnings for the area. I don't think it is London investors or help from family. I think you significantly underestimate how much some people in the vicinity are earning.

jimbog

MoneyTreeMe said:

I must choose where I want to live.  Cambridge or Edinburgh.  I'm unemployed and have 200k cash budget.  will be buying 1 bed flat bottom end of market.

Well it looks like Edinburgh then
Meadowbank is apparently nice