Last Wednesday at the offices of Carter Jonas, fifty-five attendees listened to an informed panel led by: William Rooke, Carter Jonas; Ashley Gale, Savills; Emily Gill, Ted Law; Steve Price, DevComms and Emma Proctor King, The Churchmanor Estates and moderated by Matthew Battle exploring what will be driving market activity in the Cambridge and East of England prop market in 2026.
As post-Covid activity in the Life Science market starts to subside, attendees heard about the rising supply of commercial space but continuing strong demand for ‘sheds & beds’ and occupier requirements but at reduced levels (sub 10,000 sq ft). Is this a structural change, who knows but new schemes such as Botanic Place would beg to disagree and could profit from the flight to quality office space as has been experienced in London.
William Rooke who heads up the commercial and investment team at Carter Jonas in Cambridge subsequently commented “Current inventory is 13m sqft so unless there are new entrants to the market or significant pre-let activity – the vacancy rate in 12 months is going to increase from sub 10% to 25% – the equivalent of c9 years supply. It is still a tenant’s market but let’s see what 2026 brings…”
The panel explored the ‘flat’ residential market and lack of a January ‘bounce’ on sales completions which has been compounded by slow planning decisions and a changing political scene. How this will play over 2026 is difficult to predict but the East of England prop market remains active but maybe not at levels enjoyed in 2022/23. In summary, there is much to celebrate and provide opportunities for consultants, developers and investors but in a more competitive environment.
On that note of celebration, many thanks to Colin Brown and the LandAid who are the chosen charity partners for EastProp Awards which is now live and open for submissions. See this link for more information and submission dates https://ukpropertyforums.com/eastpropawards and UK Property Forums.
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