Whether you are buying your first home, moving house or investing in property, it is vital to get an understanding of both the house you are buying and the local property market. This helps to make sure that your investment is sound.
Why do I need a chartered surveyor?
A chartered building surveyor will provide an invaluable assessment of the condition and structural integrity of a property. Furthermore, they will use local knowledge of the Cambridge region’s housing market to advise you on the investment. They can also provide a market valuation.
If you are hoping to make money from your property, a survey is particularly important. Yields can be small, especially if you are buying at the top of the market. Regions such as Water Newton, Isle of Ely, Cambridge, Girton and Grantchester, have all seen staggering rises in property prices recently. Any unexpected repairs and maintenance costs can hit profitability. Luckily, a survey report can often be used as a platform for negotiation with vendors, to make sure that you are paying a fair price for a property.
In addition, your surveyor can comment on suitability of property for the intended occupants, its suitability for rent and its compliance with the HSSRS.
For those buying in the Cambridge region, the housing market assessment produced by Cambridge City Council provides excellent additional insight into the state of the housing market. It reveals how the market will change over the coming years, giving an idea of which types of property will be in the most demand. This perfectly complements the observations that our Cambridge RICS surveying team provide.
What is predicted for the Cambridge region’s property market?
The Cambridge State of the Housing Market Assessment was done to inform housing needs in the county, but the data can also help investors understand the future of the property market. In turn, this helps purchasers make strategic decisions.
The study covered seven regions: East Cambridgeshire (including Ely, Soham and Littleport), Cambridge, Fenland (including Wisbech, March and Chatteris), Huntingdonshire (including Huntingdon and Godmanchester), South Cambridgeshire (excluding Cambridge city, which was covered separately), Forest Heath (including Lakenheath and Mildenhall) and St Edmundsbury (including Bury St Edmunds).
According to the assessment, the landscape of the Cambridge region housing market is set to evolve considerably.
The assessment predicts a total increase of around 90,000 households between 2011 and 2031. The household types that show the biggest increases are single households and couple households, which are expected to increase by 60% and 37% respectively. In contrast, the number of family households is predicted to grow by just 3–6%.
The biggest change household ages over this period is for people aged over 65 – this will increase by over 67%. Across the regions studied, the majority of the increase in the age group is predicted to be in single or couples households.
In fact, across all age groups, one person & couple households are set to increase dramatically, accounting for 96% of the change in household numbers. The only exception is in 15–24 years age bracket, in which the number of single and couple households is falling in some areas.
Families with children make up 10% of the change. Households that do not fall into these categories are the only types of household that will decrease in number of the next decade.
Cambridge building surveys by Allcott Associate’s chartered surveyors
Our RICS surveyors provide full structural surveys (Level 3) and HomeBuyer surveys (Level 2) across the Cambridge region. Our work is regulated by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, ensuring that our clients always receive the highest standards of service. Our surveyors will provide market valuations and reinstatement costs free of charge along with our survey reports, upon request.
