Cathays Property Market: House Prices, Sold Data & Development Finance, End of H1 2026

University quarter with strong HMO and student housing market near Cardiff University

The Cathays property market recorded 3,604 residential sales over the past 12 months, with a median sale price of £265,000. This places Cathays in line with the Cardiff county median, and £20k below the UK national median of £285,000.

Prices in Cathays have shown modest growth, with a year-on-year change of +0.2%. Within Cardiff, Cathays ranks 4th by price out of 6 principal towns, and 4th by transaction volume.

Cathays median prices have moved from £257,750 in Q1 2025 to £266,000 in Q2 2026, a change of +3.2% over 5 quarters. Cathays has now recorded 2 consecutive quarters of price growth.

Cathays shares a HM Land Registry reporting district with neighbouring towns, and the source data does not distinguish Cathays-specific sales from the wider district. The figures above reflect the whole shared district rather than Cathays alone.

Cardiff Council — the local planning authority covering Cathays — has 52 residential units in its current pipeline, an estimated gross development value of £10.6m, across 135 applications (0 approved, 135 pending) at an approval rate of 0%.

Cardiff Council covers more than one town in Cardiff, so this pipeline figure is authority-wide rather than specific to Cathays alone — planning applications aren't consistently attributable to a single town within a shared authority area.

Property prices in Cathays vary significantly by type. The table below compares Cathays prices with Cardiff county averages and UK national figures.

Detached homes in Cathays command £462,500, while flat properties are most accessible at £160,000. The £303k spread between the most and least expensive types indicates a diverse market with opportunities across the development spectrum.

Cathays recorded 33 new-build transactions in the past 12 months, representing 0.9% of total sales. This indicates meaningful developer activity and proven buyer demand for new homes in the area.

New-build properties in Cathays traded at a premium of 72.8% versus existing stock. This premium supports the viability of new development, as buyers are willing to pay more for new homes.

Across the wider Cardiff market, 198 new-build completions were recorded — see our Cardiff property market report for the full county picture.

The following table shows the most recent property transactions recorded in Cathays, providing real-time evidence of achieved prices for buyers, sellers, and developers:

These transactions are sourced from HM Land Registry Price Paid data and represent completed, registered sales. The range from £152,000 to £475,500 illustrates the breadth of the Cathays market.

For developers considering Cathays, the local market data translates directly into finance structuring. With a median value of £265,000 and detached homes at £462,500, lenders can assess scheme viability with confidence.

A typical development finance facility for a Cathays scheme with a GDV of £462,500 would attract senior debt of approximately £300,625 at 65% LTGDV. Mezzanine finance can stretch total borrowing to 85-90% of costs, while bridging loans enable rapid site acquisitions completing in as little as 5 working days.

With prices rising 0.2% year-on-year, Cathays presents a supportive environment for new development. Lenders view positive price momentum favourably when assessing loan applications.

Ready to develop in Cathays? Submit your scheme for indicative terms within 24 hours from our panel of 100+ lenders.

To put Cathays's market in context, the table below compares it with similarly-priced towns across Cardiff:

For the full Cardiff town-by-town breakdown, see our comprehensive Cardiff property market report.