A Cambridge University boffin has revealed what he clearly considers one of the most extraordinary events of 2023 – a single parking space near to his home being sold for £122,000.
David Stillwell, Professor of Computational Social Science at Cambridge University Judge Business School, described on @X (formerly Twitter) how he “went down a rabbit hole of property auctions near me”.
What he found, and describes as “totally normal”, was the intense bidding to buy the parking space on Victoria Street, Cambridge.
Auctioneers’ Cheffins advertised it with a guide price of £20,000 but bidding soon rose and by the time it reached £44,000 just two bidders were left to battle it out.
Cheffins catalogue of the auction reveal that two bidders – identified only by their respective numbers of six and seven, pushed the asking price up £500 a time until only bidder seven remained as the lucky purchaser.
In addition, the successful bidder was required to pay a buyer’s contract fee of £600 including VAT due on exchange of contracts.
The parking space was described as single off-road parking space, freehold and with a central location.
The parking space measures 6.07m x 2.64m and is bordered on 2 sides by residential property and to its left-hand side by a separately owned parking space.
The space is laid to concrete with a metal lockable bollard adjacent to the pavement.
It lies at the western end of Victoria Street and is therefore, noted Cheffins, “ideally located in the historic heart of Cambridge city centre, within 200m of the various Cambridge colleges, bus station and main shopping centres.
“Parking opportunities are rarely available in the city centre, and this is therefore likely to appeal to nearby residents and commuter workers alike”.
Went down a rabbit hole of property auctions near me and discovered this single parking space in central Cambridge that sold for £122k earlier this year. Totally normal. https://t.co/H5YoNOTSXR pic.twitter.com/IpIEzfadXX
— David Stillwell (@david_stillwell) December 30, 2023
On the Judge Business School website, it lists Professor Stillwell’s research interests as including psychometrics, psychology, decision-making, and social networks.
To which of course can now be added ‘parking space auctions in Cambridge’.
Professor Stillwell was named this year by business-school publication Poets & Quants to its 40 Under 40 list of talented young professors teaching in MBA programmes around the world.
