Cambridgeshire Property Market 2026: Is Now a Good Time to Sell?
The Good, the Bad and What Homeowners Need to Know Before Putting Their Property on the Market
I've probably been asked one question more than any other during valuations over the last few months:
“What's the property market actually like at the moment?”
It's a perfectly reasonable question.
But my answer isn't simply:
“Good.”
Or:
“Bad.”
Because I don't think either describes the Cambridgeshire property market in 2026 particularly well.
The market is functioning.
Properties are selling.
There are buyers.
There are people who need more space, people downsizing, people relocating, first-time buyers trying to get onto the ladder and families who simply want to get on with their lives.
But it's also a market where buyers have considerably more choice, affordability is stretched and sellers need to work harder to attract attention.
And that changes everything.
For me, the best description of the market right now is:
Selective.
Buyers will move.
But increasingly, they need to be given a compelling reason to choose your home over everything else available.
The Good News: The Market Has Started to Move Again
Let's start with something positive.
September finally delivered an increase in asking prices.
The average price of a newly listed property across Great Britain rose by 0.7%, or £2,441, to £367,440.
That's the first monthly increase since May.
It's also slightly stronger than the ten-year average September increase of 0.5%. Rightmove
After a particularly subdued summer, that's encouraging.
And I'm seeing some of that renewed intent locally.
September and October are traditionally important months for the property market.
The summer holidays finish.
Children go back to school.
People return from travelling.
And conversations that have been put off suddenly restart:
“Are we actually going to move this year?”
Rightmove recorded a 5% increase in buyer demand during the first week of September, considerably stronger than the average 0.4% increase over the equivalent period during the previous five years. The East of England also saw a 5% uplift. Rightmove
So yes, there are positive signs.
But I wouldn't call it a boom.
This Is a Recovery, Not a Rebound
This distinction matters.
September's 0.7% increase sounds encouraging in isolation.
But average asking prices are still 0.8% lower than this time last year and 2.3% below where they were at the beginning of the summer. Rightmove
So I don't think homeowners should look at September's number and assume the market has suddenly turned.
It hasn't.
What we're seeing looks more like some confidence returning after a difficult summer.
And locally, there are some genuinely encouraging signs underneath that.
What Is Happening to House Prices in Cambridgeshire?
This is where national headlines can become misleading.
There isn't one UK property market.
There isn't even really one Cambridgeshire property market.
Cambridge behaves differently from Huntingdon.
St Ives behaves differently from Ramsey.
The Hemingfords behave differently from Sawtry.
A £250,000 first-time-buyer property behaves differently from a £1 million country house.
So local data matters.
The latest UK House Price Index shows the average completed sale price across Cambridgeshire at approximately £339,095 in July 2026, up 2.7% compared with July 2025. GOV.UK
That doesn't look like a collapsing market to me.
But dig deeper and the differences become even more interesting.
Huntingdonshire Is Actually Showing Price Growth
Across Huntingdonshire, where we sell a significant number of properties, the average completed sale price was approximately £308,000 in July 2026.
That's up 3.1% year-on-year.
Average prices by property type were approximately:
Detached – £484,000
Semi-detached – £305,000
Terraced – £241,000
Flats and maisonettes – £149,000
First-time buyers paid an average of approximately £250,000, up 3.4% compared with the previous year. Office for National Statistics
That's useful context.
Because if you only read some of the national headlines, you could be forgiven for thinking property values are falling everywhere.
They aren't.
South Cambridgeshire Tells Another Story
Move towards South Cambridgeshire and the numbers are different again.
The average property price was approximately £440,000 in July, up 2.2% year-on-year.
The average first-time buyer there was paying approximately £349,000. Office for National Statistics
Cambridge itself was around £475,000, broadly unchanged year-on-year. GOV.UK
That variation is exactly why I don't believe homeowners should make decisions based purely on a national headline.
Your market is the market for your type of property, in your location, at your price point.
That's what matters.
So What's the Bad News?
Competition.
This is probably the single biggest issue facing sellers right now.
There are currently more homes available for sale than we've seen at this time of year for 12 years.
At the same time, buyer enquiries are running approximately 9% below last year. Rightmove
Think about what those two numbers mean together.
More sellers.
Fewer buyers.
That changes the balance of power.
Buyers can afford to be selective.
Buyers Have More Choice Than They've Had for Years
Imagine you're buying a four-bedroom detached home.
A few years ago, perhaps there were three realistic options in your search area.
Today there might be ten.
You're going to compare them.
Which has the better kitchen?
Which has the larger garden?
Which is presented better?
Which has better photography?
Which is on the better road?
Which needs less work?
Which has been reduced?
Which represents the best value?
And crucially:
Which one makes you want to book a viewing?
That is the market sellers are competing in.
You're not simply selling a house.
You're competing for the buyer's attention.
This Is Why Marketing Matters More Than Ever
I've always believed property presentation matters.
In this market, I think it matters even more.
When buyers have a lot of choice, average marketing becomes much easier to ignore.
Dark photographs.
Poor angles.
A rushed description.
No video.
No social-media strategy.
A property uploaded to Rightmove and then essentially left there.
That isn't enough for me.
At Lennon James Property, our approach can include:
Professional photography
Cinematic property video
Drone photography and video
360-degree virtual tours
Professionally designed digital brochures
Enhanced portal exposure
Rightmove
Zoopla
Facebook
Instagram
Paid targeted social-media advertising
Video distribution
We've built an audience of more than 10,000 followers across Facebook and Instagram and produced more than 5,000 pieces of content.
Why?
Because portals are incredibly important.
But putting a property on a portal isn't a complete marketing strategy.
Particularly when that portal contains more competing properties than it has for 12 years.
The Biggest Mistake Sellers Can Make Right Now
For me, it's overpricing.
And I think the data backs that up very clearly.
Nearly three-quarters – 74% – of properties that have successfully sold during 2026 did so without needing an asking-price reduction. Rightmove
More recent Rightmove analysis goes even further.
Homes that don't require a reduction are currently 13% more likely to sell.
They're finding buyers in around 39 days, compared with approximately 119 days for properties that need their asking price reduced.
A third of properties are currently being reduced, with an average reduction of around 6.6%. Rightmove
Those numbers should make every prospective seller stop and think.
“Let's Start High. We Can Always Reduce It.”
I hear this frequently.
And technically, it's true.
You can reduce the price.
But you can't recreate the first day your property came onto the market.
That's the difference.
When your home launches, it's new.
Buyers receive alerts.
Our social-media campaign begins.
The video launches.
Existing applicants are contacted.
People notice it.
That initial period is incredibly valuable.
If the property launches significantly above where buyers perceive value, they may simply ignore it.
Six weeks later you reduce it.
But now they've seen it before.
You're no longer the exciting new property.
You're the house that's been sitting there for six weeks.
That can completely change the psychology.
Price Isn't About Being Cheap
This is another misconception.
When I talk about realistic pricing, I'm not talking about undervaluing somebody's home.
Our job is to achieve the best possible price.
But there's an enormous difference between:
optimising the price
and
inventing the price.
A strong asking price should create interest.
Interest creates viewings.
Viewings create competition.
And competition is ultimately what gives us the best opportunity to maximise the final selling price.
An inflated asking price that nobody engages with achieves none of those things.
Mortgage Rates Are the Number I'd Watch Closely
This is probably the biggest risk to the market right now.
The Rightmove data you've referenced showed the average two-year fixed mortgage rate at 5.29%, up from 5.09% the previous month and from around 4.25% before the conflict in Iran began. At that point, Rightmove calculated that the average monthly payment on a new mortgage was approximately £180 higher than before the conflict. Rightmove
And since then, rates have moved again.
As of late September, Rightmove's mortgage data put the average two-year fixed rate at approximately 5.49%, compared with 4.53% a year earlier. Rightmove
That is significant.
Not because it means buyers disappear.
But because it changes what they can afford.
A Buyer Doesn't Care What Their Mortgage Cost Last Year
They care what it costs today.
This is really important for sellers to understand.
Imagine somebody has a fixed monthly housing budget.
As mortgage rates increase, more of that budget is consumed by interest.
Their maximum purchase price may therefore fall.
That's why a relatively modest movement in mortgage rates can have a disproportionately large impact on buyer behaviour.
A buyer who might once have stretched another £20,000 to secure the right property may simply not have that flexibility anymore.
And that feeds directly into negotiations.
Buyers Are Scrutinising Value
This is probably the biggest behavioural change I'm seeing.
Buyers haven't disappeared.
They're more careful.
They're looking at:
Sold prices
Asking-price reductions
How long a property has been marketed
Mortgage repayments
Energy costs
Renovation costs
Stamp duty
Comparable properties
What else their budget buys
And because they have more properties to choose from, they're less likely to compromise on something that doesn't feel like value.
That's not necessarily bad.
It simply means sellers have to understand the environment they're entering.
What Does This Mean if You're Thinking of Selling in Cambridgeshire?
I wouldn't tell somebody not to sell because the market is challenging.
That's far too simplistic.
People move because their lives change.
They have children.
They get married.
They separate.
They relocate.
They need another bedroom.
They want a smaller home.
They inherit property.
They retire.
They find somewhere they love.
Life doesn't wait for the perfect property market.
The more useful question is:
How do I give myself the best possible chance of selling in the market I've actually got?
For me, that comes down to three things.
Price. Presentation. Exposure.
1. Price It Properly
Look at actual comparable evidence.
What has sold?
What is currently competing with you?
What hasn't sold?
How long are similar properties taking?
Don't automatically instruct the estate agent who gives you the highest valuation.
Ask them to explain it.
If four agents say £500,000 and one says £575,000, don't just celebrate the £575,000.
Ask:
Why?
A valuation should be supported by evidence.
2. Present It Properly
In a market with record choice, presentation is no longer a nice extra.
It's fundamental.
The first viewing of your home isn't normally when somebody walks through the front door.
It's on their phone.
Photography matters.
Video matters.
The opening image matters.
The description matters.
Floorplans matter.
The order of the images matters.
The lifestyle story matters.
You've got seconds to make somebody stop scrolling.
Use them properly.
3. Market It Beyond the Portals
Rightmove and Zoopla remain enormously important.
But why limit yourself to buyers who happen to be searching at that exact moment?
Social media allows us to put property in front of people who may not yet have started their formal search.
Somebody sees a video.
They send it to their partner.
Their partner sends it to a parent.
Suddenly someone who wasn't searching for your house yesterday is arranging a viewing tomorrow.
That's marketing.
What About Buyers?
For buyers, there are genuine positives in this market.
You have choice.
More stock means more opportunities to compare properties.
You may have greater negotiating power.
You can take more time assessing value.
And properties that have been on the market for a while may provide opportunities that weren't available during faster markets.
But I wouldn't assume every seller is desperate.
Local sold-price data shows values across Huntingdonshire and Cambridgeshire have still been holding up reasonably well. Office for National Statistics
A well-priced, beautifully presented property in a desirable location can still attract strong interest.
If it's the right home, negotiate sensibly.
What About Sellers Who Also Need to Buy?
This is where I think people sometimes look at the market incorrectly.
They focus entirely on what they might receive for their current home.
But if you're moving up the ladder, what you're buying matters just as much as what you're selling.
Suppose your current property would once have achieved £400,000 but is now realistically worth £390,000.
You've “lost” £10,000.
But if the £700,000 house you're buying can now be secured for £675,000, you're potentially £15,000 better off on the overall move.
That's a simplified example, obviously.
But it illustrates an important point.
Don't assess a moving market purely through the value of the house you're selling.
Look at the whole transaction.
Is Autumn 2026 a Good Time to Sell in Cambridgeshire?
I think it can be.
But with one important condition.
You need to enter the market properly.
September has given us some encouraging signs.
Buyer activity has improved from the summer.
Asking prices have recorded their first monthly rise since May.
Local completed-sale values remain resilient in many parts of Cambridgeshire.
There is still a strong underlying desire to move. Rightmove
But sellers cannot ignore the other side of the equation.
There is a huge amount of competition.
Buyer demand remains below last year.
Mortgage rates have increased.
Affordability is stretched.
And buyers can afford to be choosy.
That makes this a market of opportunity for the best-positioned properties, rather than one where everything sells simply because it has been listed.
My View on the Cambridgeshire Property Market
I've worked through enough different property markets to know that people spend far too much time trying to label them.
Booming.
Falling.
Buyer's market.
Seller's market.
Reality is usually more nuanced.
Right now, I see a Cambridgeshire market with good underlying demand but significant competition for that demand.
That's not a bad market.
It's a market that rewards good decisions.
Sellers who price sensibly, present exceptionally and market proactively can still achieve very good results.
Properties that launch too high, look average online and rely solely on being uploaded to a portal are going to find life considerably harder.
And personally, I think that's where a good estate agent should earn their fee.
Not by putting your house online.
By creating the strategy that gets it sold.
If I Were Selling My Own Home Right Now
I'd ask myself five questions.
What is it genuinely worth in today's market?
Not what it was worth two years ago.
Not what my neighbour thinks.
Not what I need it to be worth.
Today's market.
What else will my buyer see at the same price?
Because that's my competition.
Does my home look better online than that competition?
If it doesn't, I'd fix that before launching.
How is my agent going to create demand beyond Rightmove?
I'd want a real answer.
And finally:
If we don't get the response we expect, what's the strategy?
I'd want that conversation before the property goes live.
Not six weeks afterwards.
The Bottom Line
If you're thinking about selling a property in Cambridgeshire, I don't think the message from the current market should be:
“Don't sell.”
I think it should be:
“Don't waste your launch.”
There are buyers.
There are sales.
There are people actively looking for their next home.
But there are also more properties competing for those buyers than we've seen for years.
So don't enter the market casually.
Get the price right.
Get the presentation right.
Get the marketing right.
And give buyers a reason to choose your property.
At Lennon James Property, that's exactly what we believe our job is.
Property is personal. The way you sell it should be too.
Jon
Lennon James Property
Frequently Asked Questions About the Cambridgeshire Property Market
Are house prices falling in Cambridgeshire in 2026?
Not according to the latest completed-sale data at county level. The UK House Price Index recorded an average Cambridgeshire price of approximately £339,095 in July 2026, 2.7% higher year-on-year. Individual towns, villages, price bands and property types can perform very differently. GOV.UK
What is the average house price in Huntingdonshire?
The latest provisional ONS/HM Land Registry data puts the average at approximately £308,000 in July 2026, up 3.1% annually. Office for National Statistics
What is the average house price in South Cambridgeshire?
Approximately £440,000 in July 2026, 2.2% higher than a year earlier. Office for National Statistics
Is it a buyer's market in Cambridgeshire?
Buyers currently have substantially more choice nationally, and East of England sellers face significant competition. However, local conditions vary considerably. I would describe the current market as more buyer-sensitive rather than universally buyer-controlled.
Are there still buyers looking for homes?
Yes. Rightmove actually recorded an above-average return in buyer activity at the beginning of September, including a 5% increase in the East of England. However, overall enquiries nationally remain around 9% below a year ago. Rightmove
Should I reduce my house price to sell?
Not automatically. The objective should be to establish the appropriate market position from the outset. Rightmove's current data shows properties that don't need a subsequent reduction are selling significantly faster than those that do. Rightmove
Should I wait until 2027 to sell my house?
That depends far more on your circumstances, property and onward move than on trying to predict the market. If you're selling and buying in the same market, movements in the value of your onward purchase can be just as important as changes in your existing home's value.
What makes a property sell in the current market?
In my view, the three fundamentals are price, presentation and exposure. With more homes competing for buyer attention, all three matter.
Is now a good time to buy in Cambridgeshire?
For some buyers, greater choice and a more price-sensitive market can create opportunities. The counterweight is mortgage affordability, so the right decision depends on your finances and circumstances rather than market headlines alone.
How important is the initial asking price?
Extremely. Current Rightmove data indicates that homes avoiding a price reduction are selling materially faster and are more likely to secure a buyer. Rightmove
How can Lennon James Property help me sell my Cambridgeshire home?
Our approach combines local market knowledge with professional photography, cinematic video, drone imagery where appropriate, digital presentation, major property portals and targeted social-media marketing.
We believe the objective isn't simply to list your property.
It's to make the right buyers notice it.
