Is the Cambridge property bubble about to burst?

I was reading an article written by Cambridge News which reported on "Your" say on the state of the housing market and thought some of you may be interested on what was said, for once an opinion other than just mine but of course ill chip in with a opinion or two of my own ;-)

Nothing gets people British talking quite like the cost of housing, and it seems 'News' readers are no exception and in this particular article Cambridge News revealed property prices in the city had fallen for the first time in years, prompting a possible end to the city's booming market.

For some or their readers they state that this has been a long time coming, with many commenters on their website looking forward to more affordable property.

But with Cambridge still the third most expensive city in the UK in which to buy, and the average house price still close to twice the national average, many were sceptical as to whether it would really make a significant difference.

Many estate agents they spoke to said uncertainty caused by June's Brexit vote has caused problems in the city's market, but many of the online commentariat were not so sure, my opinion on this based upon actual facts is that I am not experiencing any significant changes, yes there was a few months of uncertainty but directly after I sold a 2 bedroom house with a market value of £350,000 for an astonishing £23,000 over the asking price suggesting that indeed Brexit will not be as big an influence as originally expected.

hyeresman wrote: “I would suggest this downturn is due to the 3% surcharge on second homes brought in on 1st April, Cambridge & London both being large markets for buy to let properties". - I may be inclined to agree with this however when you take into consideration that you will still be making around a 6% yield you for one will be making money whilst your property still will increase in value as prove above still making an investment in Cambridge Property a lucrative one.

One reader wrote “Strange that there is no mention of this from the 'experts', or just more biased reporting against Brexit?" - which was a prompt for me to share my thoughts with you guys, here's an expert opinion ;-)

Peck0 said: “The house prices in Cambridge were absolutely stupid and benefited only the estate and property agents...............and it's those who are up in arms now - I completely disagree with this, I have many professional tenants that are extremely happy with their accommodation, sometimes its necessary to pay a little more for those extra luxuries in life and keeping properties in great condition is what I'm all about after all we all know that 'A good property breeds a good tenant'.

“Brexit has nothing to do with it; like all 'good' things, there comes a point where it has to end and now is that time". - I'm not sure that now's the time as I believe property values will still increase for the next couple of years at least, there are still advantages in Cambridge that will help the increase for example the new train station in Chesterton making Chesterton properties a direct link to the likes of Kings Cross station in London.

totalastronom said: “Reduction of 20% is on the cards given the huge amount of new builds everywhere. - Sorry totalastronom I couldn't disagree more, I can't get enough properties to house the influx of new businesses in Cambridge and with the likes of Astrazeneca and Microsoft looking to rehouse employees into Cambridge we are going to need all the properties we can lay our hands on and in turn we will fill them with great tenants.

Another reader wrote “In my neighborhood (Castle) landlords are selling up wholesale because of the new tax arrangements that the Tories brought in to put them out of business, plus the colleges are building to achieve 100% accommodation for their students on college property" - Although colleges indeed are building on site, this is 1 something that will not happen over night and 2 I am filling my landlords properties with either family's or working professionals and I have no where near enough properties compared to the list of working professionals I have waiting so this is not a concern of mine or my landlords it simply means your properties would be filled with a better clientele.

LLoyd said: “surely that must be good thing Brexit =less immigration= less demand = realistic house prices for those that need to get on the ladder or move up it" - Cambridge is a beautiful place to live and the fact is sometimes you have to pay for what you get but rest assured that the beauty is here to stay.

opaque wrote: “Be realistic, with an average price of £404,000 unless it's a 50% reduction in price there is going to be no change most people who would like to stay in the city they were born in." To this my response is I was bourn in Cambridge and not only am I staying here, I'm offering free advise to others that want to stay here too. In content it's achievable.

hahahaha said: “i seriously hope so! stupid prices in Cambridge for a house. - hahahaha I will treat this comment with the contempt it deserves and merely ignore it?

Christine Butler said: “Can't see what the problem is .... over priced anyway due to outside interest and the properties still won't be affordable." - my response to Christine is that although I do have outside investors in Cambridge I would estimate that at least 85% of my landlords indeed lived in their properties for many years in Cambridge before either retiring to quieter villages or moving with work keeping them as investments, it's not all about outside interest.

Martin Worship replied: “They'll only go down temporarily and then just rise again. Property will always go up" - I personally don't think they will even go down". - They will steady off but I agree for now, I don't forecast any loss within Cambridge for the foreseeable future.

John Clifford Bird wrote: “Nothing to worry about, house prices go up and down like the price of gold." - Maybe we should look at building Gold houses :-)

Of course I'd be interested in your views and as always I'm here to help so if you need me simply ping me a message and I will get back to you as soon as I have chance, I'm here to help.

Contact Cambridge Property Investments Ltd ® for advise with investing in Cambridge and letting your property whilst reaching your maximum yield, We're here to help!

Heres a nice property investment for you with a 5.6% Yield.

Looking through Zoopla just now i have stumbled upon this stunning building with heaps of potential.

It's currently on the market for £475,000 with elevation and is a 4 bedroom terrace house in the pristine location of Beaconsfield Terrace which is situated centrally in Cambridge. Not only is the location key but should the rooms be in good condition you could easily reach £550pcm per room on the rental market - thats a whopping £2200pcm offering you an instant yield of 5.6%.

Now imagine this how about checking out the size of the rooms and being a victorian house i would expect them to be huge and i would also expect that you could make at least two of them ensuite increasing those two rentals to say £650pcm, give it a year and they pay for themselves so year two and three become extra profit let alone the increase you have instantly created in your property value?
All in all this property is certainly worth giving elevation a call.

Contact Cambridge Property Investments Ltd ® for advise with investing in Cambridge and letting your property whilst reaching your maximum yield, We're here to help!

Property Valuers drop Brexit clauses from most contracts as markets steady.

Let me share the views of Esha Vaish with you my friends because I think you'll find them interesting.

Five big property services firms are dropping Brexit uncertainty clauses from their valuation reports for most UK assets as market conditions steady after a sharp drop immediately after Britain's vote in June to leave the EU.

The original Brexit clause, seen by Reuters, stated there was a reduced probability that valuers' opinions of the worth of a UK property would exactly coincide with the price its potential sale fetched.

British property was among the sectors hardest hit by the vote in favour of Brexit and at one point commercial property funds worth over 18 billion pounds were suspended amid high redemptions from investors concerned that property demand and prices would plummet.

Concerns have since eased with four of the seven closed funds reopening and data from the widest UK commercial property index showing that property values fell less sharply in August than the month before.

"We feel now there's enough certainty in most sectors for us to withdraw that clause from all our valuation reporting," said Robert Gray, head of fund valuations at Knight Frank.

CBRE, Jones Lang LaSalle, Savills and Colliers said that for some subsectors with greater uncertainty, they had retained reworded clauses that reflected a less cautious tone.

"Savills considers the uncertainty clause is redundant for most markets. However, there is a lack of post-Brexit evidence in some sectors ... and we will reference this in our reports as necessary," said Ian Malden, Savills' divisional head of valuation.

The sectors involve central London offices, development land and buildings, retail parks and large shopping centres.

A revised clause from JLL, seen by Reuters, said there was still a lack of comparable deals in such sectors and therefore valuations reflected a "greater degree of judgment".

Andrew Renshaw, JLL's lead director for UK valuations and professional advisory, said the concerns were largely around the larger asset sizes. He expected the revised clause to disappear completely during October as conditions become more transparent.

For less risky properties, JLL dropped clauses completely from Sept. 19, following a meeting of top property valuers and firms last Wednesday, Renshaw said.

Russell Francis, head of valuation and advisory services at Colliers, said the firm had begun dropping clauses many weeks ago, referencing areas of the housing market that had seen strong levels of activity even after Brexit.

In recent weeks, several builders have said sales have risen, and data has suggested prices are climbing again.

On the commercial end of the market, valuers have dropped clauses for properties with long leases and steady incomes, often seen in sectors such as student flats and care homes.

Knight Frank's Gray said the firm's valuations for risky properties would on average be 2-6 percent lower than pre-Brexit levels.

There are some concerns that such clauses may resurface once Britain begins formal negotiations to exit the EU.

Gray said he did not envisage reintroducing the clause in the short term, though altered market conditions could prompt their return.

Knight Frank and CBRE value around two-thirds of UK commercial real estate market, according to Mike Prew, property analysts at Jefferies. Reuters could not immediate verify how much market share the rest of the valuers held.

(Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom Heneghan)

Now I don't really want to get into the whole Brexit debate as I like/prefer to concentrate on future tense and not past tense (yes I understand its our future) but where I'm going with this is that with Cambridge being vastly a student city and student accommodation still experiencing a rise and not a fall despite the Brexit then Cambridge is still the city to invest in!

Contact Cambridge Property Investments Ltd ® for advise with investing in Cambridge and letting your property whilst reaching your maximum yield, We're here to help!