Premimum prices paid for development and investment property at Cheffins December auction.

The final Cheffins property auction of the year saw development and investment lots sell for premium prices on Wednesday December 6. Hosted at the firm’s salerooms in Cambridge, the sale grossed over £2.75m across eleven lots including land, investment opportunities and residential homes.

The highest price on the day was £890,000 paid for the Colourbox Montessori Nursery on Haverhill Research Park which offered a rental income of £61,065 per annum.

Making in excess of £100,000 over its estimate of £750,000, the property offers the investor buyer a final gross yield of 6.8%. The modern purpose-built premises were constructed in 2015, with over 4,025 sqft of accommodation, a car park and drop off area.

It is on the Haverhill Research Park which is a 30-acre landscaped park with Enterprise Zone status and planning permission for over 450,000 sqft of development.

Interest in a series of development plots available proved that there remains a lot of confidence in the East Anglian property market. The most generous of these was a development site of eight partly-constructed residential units in Feltwell, near Thetford.

This lot sold for 52% above its asking price with the winning bid at £535,000 against a guide price of £350,000.

Proving further strength in the local residential sales market, a cleaned five-acre plot just outside the picturesque Finchingfield village which had planning permission for a single new build property sold for £320,000 against a guide price of £200,000.

Also on offer were five separate land lots across the region which all sold for strong prices with the highest price being £191,000 which was paid for 8.5 acres of land at Guilden Morden, near Royston.

The land offered two parcels of Grade 2 arable land bordered by mature hedgerows. It eventually sold to investors following competitive bidding in the room.