HOME EDI T ION
Homes Coming Soon
NINE & THE MEWS Laragh’s Nine development is a
collection of nine luxury apartments at St Stephen’s Place, just off Huntingdon Road. The development launches early this year, with options for one, two- and three-bedroom homes available. They come with high-spec bathrooms and kitchens, and plenty of stylish features. In spring, Laragh will also unveil The Mews: a unique development of 17 two-, three- and four-bedroom homes, on Histon Road. This leafy cul-de-sac offers good- sized gardens, eye-catching design by award-winning architect HaysomWard Miller, and great eco credentials. Savills is the agent for both developments.
DON’T BURST MY BUBBLE Current homeowners will be closely watching to see if the boom continues. City estate agents certainly seem to be very optimistic, with the short-term outlook positive
of late,” he adds. “However, the number of homes coming to the market has also been constrained, and this – combined with relatively low unemployment rates and a robust economic performance coming out of a recession – means we expect to see softer growth rather than prices falling.” More growth, even of the soft kind, is positive for Cambridge – but it might not be music to the ears of those hoping to get on the ladder, who are increasingly being priced out of the game in our city. “Rising house prices will, of course, make it harder for first-time buyers,” warns Cheffins’ Richard Freshwater. “The government has set lofty targets for housebuilding, which will help with availability, but they need to be priced at varied levels to aid affordability, particularly within East Anglia,” he advises. Richard believes that interest rate rises, coupled with inflationary hikes, might slow the number of transactions this year, but that there do not seem to be many signs of a housing crash. “It’s more likely that the market would plateau to a certain extent,” he concludes. “Cambridge has always been somewhat protected by ripples in the market felt elsewhere in the UK.”
Savills agrees that the only way seems to be up, forecasting house price growth of 10.4% in the east of England over the next five years – with an increase of 3% in 2022. It means the average cost of a home in the region is predicted to rise to £420,276 by 2026, compared to the current average of £380,685. Interestingly, that’s actually slightly lower than the forecast for the UK as a whole, which has predicted price rises of 13.1% over the next five years, and a 3.5% lift in 2022. Mostly, says Ed Meyer, that’s down to the fact that this part of England, “has experienced above-average increases in house price growth for the past decade or more – so it’s perhaps no surprise to see other parts of the UK now catching up”. Though predicting sustained growth over the coming years, Ed believes that things are likely to feel substantially calmer than they have. “After such intensity in the market, and without the imperative of a stamp duty holiday, we know there’s likely to be less urgency from 2022. “As a result, coupled with the first anticipated interest rate rise, our researchers expect price growth in the near term to be more muted than we have seen
GREENWAYS AT MARLEIGH A collaboration between Hill and Marshall, Marleigh is a new collection of homes located on Newmarket Road. With an emphasis on culture and community, this neighbourhood offers a sense of belonging, all the amenities you need – plus sports pitches, play areas and the community’s focal point, Gregory Park. The development is releasing its third phase, Greenways, in spring this year, which will offer a collection of 83 private homes, made up of two-, three-, four- and five- bedroom houses.
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