The British university city of Cambridge holds the honour of being the fastest-selling city in the United Kingdom, according to research from a leading property website.
Properties in Cambridge (pictured) are on the market for an average of just 27 days, and the city is closely followed by the London boroughs of Lewisham and Sutton – both with 29 days – and Waltham Forest with 31 days.
At the other end of the scale Powys in Wales is home to the slowest moving properties, where sellers can expect an average time between first listing and sale agreed of 113 days
According to the survey from Rightmove, seven of the top ten fastest selling areas are all London boroughs, with Warwick (33 days) and St Albans (34 days) making the fastest selling top ten.
In the slower selling markets properties could be for sale for an average of more than 100 days before a deal is made, with areas in Wales and the North making up the majority of the list.
The new data includes all properties that were changed to Sold Subject to Contract (SSTC) by agents during the period from April until June 2014, and measures the interval of time since they were first listed for sale on the website.
Miles Shipside, Rightmove Director and Housing Market Analyst, said: “This new data shows just how different the pace of the housing market is at a very local level, and clearly displays that speed is key for both buyers and sellers.
“Buyers want to know that they can be the first to find new properties on the market, and sellers expect to have their property marketed as quickly as possible to find a suitable buyer.
Andrew Bradshaw, a real estate agent of Bradshaws Residential in Cambridge, the fastest-selling city, said: “In the current market we are finding a number of buyers for many properties within two weeks or even a week in some cases.
“Cambridge has always been viewed as a safe bet with the University and big businesses investing in the city and with the upcoming additional railway station things are only likely to move even more quickly.”
Andrew Batt, International Group Editor of PropertyGuru Group, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email andrew@propertyguru.com.sg
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