Ely and Newmarket are both within half an hour of Cambridge, but they suit different buyers. Ely is the more expensive, with homes selling for an average of £368,507 on our completed sales against £304,250 in Newmarket. For that, you get a quicker train: about 15 minutes from Ely to Cambridge, against around 25 from Newmarket. Newmarket is also cheaper to rent on average, and its sales usually complete a couple of months sooner.
Our teams sell and let homes in both towns, so every figure here comes from homes we’ve sold or let ourselves. The guide starts with where the price gap comes from and what renting costs, then looks at what the Suffolk and Cambridgeshire border means for buyers around Newmarket and which streets our teams recommend for value.
How do Ely and Newmarket compare at a glance?
Here are the headline figures from our sales and lettings in each town.
| Ely | Newmarket |
|---|
County | Cambridgeshire | Suffolk |
Completed sales | 243 | 84 |
Average achieved price | £368,507 | £304,250 |
Achieved against asking price | About 98% | About 97 to 98% |
Instruction to completion | 8 to 9 months | About 6 months (180 days) |
Average monthly rent | £1,200 | £1,087 |
First lets typically agreed | Within four weeks | Within 14 days |
Train to Cambridge | 15 minutes | About 25 minutes |
The sales figures are averages of what homes actually sold for through Cheffins: in Newmarket and the surrounding area over the 12 months to May 2026, and in Ely over the past 12 months. Neither town leaves much room for haggling. Buyers in Ely are paying about 98% of the asking price, and in Newmarket 97 to 98%.
Newmarket’s prices have also fallen over the past year. Our team there puts the drop at roughly 10-15%, bringing prices back to around where they were before Covid. That makes the town cheaper to buy in now than it’s been for several years, and anyone selling there needs to price for today’s market from the start.
Why is Ely more expensive than Newmarket?
Ely is £64,257 more expensive than Newmarket on average, largely because its detached houses cost so much more, by £218,202. If you're looking at a semi, you'll find the two towns much closer in price, as the table below shows.
Property type | Ely | Newmarket | Gap |
|---|
Detached | £589,452 | £371,250 | £218,202 (Ely 58.8% higher) |
Semi-detached | £366,000 | £339,958 | £26,042 (Ely 7.7% higher) |
A semi costs just £26,042 more in Ely, so at that end of the market you can choose on the commute and the place. If you need a detached house, Newmarket saves you over £200,000, and Ely's detached homes sell at 99.5% of asking on average, so there's little room to negotiate there.
End-of-terrace homes show a big gap too: £306,000 in Ely against £202,500 in Newmarket. Cottages are much closer, at £400,000 and £375,000. Ely's terraced homes average £200,000, but that's based on only a handful of sales, and our team says they can sell for a good deal more, so treat that figure with caution.
Is it cheaper to rent in Ely or Newmarket?
On average, it's cheaper to rent in Newmarket, at £1,087 a month compared with £1,200 in Ely. Whether it works out cheaper for you, though, depends on the size of the home you're after.
Monthly rent | Ely | Newmarket |
|---|
Two-bedroom flat | £900 | £1,100 |
Three-bedroom | £1,397 | £1,366 |
Four-bedroom | £2,042 | £1,887 |
Average, all homes | £1,200 | £1,087 |
If you're after a two-bedroom flat, Ely is the cheaper of the two by £200 a month, at £900 against £1,100 in Newmarket. Once you need room for a family, it flips: a three-bedroom home costs £31 more in Ely and a four-bedroom home £155 more. Two-bedroom houses sit in between, at £1,100 in Ely and £1,193 in Newmarket. All rents are rounded to the nearest pound. You can see what's available in our flats to rent in Ely and family homes to rent in Newmarket.
Whichever town you choose, don't expect a good home to wait around. Rentals in Newmarket typically let within about 14 days, and in Ely within four weeks. In Ely, the streets near the station and King's School tend to go first, such as Broad Street, Victoria Street and Back Hill, and since 2022 more tenants have been asking for outdoor space and parking. If you'd rather live just outside Newmarket, the villages of Moulton, Cheveley and Ashley are where demand is strongest.
You'll find a different mix of neighbours renting in each town. Many of Newmarket's tenants are US military personnel from Lakenheath and Mildenhall, alongside racing staff and Cambridge commuters looking for a lower rent. In Ely, you're more likely to be living near young professionals and families, including people working in healthcare and at AstraZeneca.
If you're watching where rents are heading, the two towns are moving in different directions. Newmarket's average has dropped 10.6% over the past year, though it's still 2.8% above its three-year baseline. Ely's has been steadier, and at £1,200 it's up from £1,002 in 2022.
How far is each town from Cambridge?
Ely's about 15 minutes away by train and Newmarket about 25. Ely's line also runs direct to King's Cross in 1 hour 10 minutes. From Newmarket you change at Cambridge for London, which takes 1 hour 41 minutes to Liverpool Street and 1 hour 49 to King's Cross, though there's a direct train the other way to Bury St Edmunds in under 20 minutes.
Ten minutes each way comes to over an hour and a half a week on a five-day commute, and that time is part of what Ely's higher prices pay for.
Is Newmarket in Suffolk or Cambridgeshire?
Newmarket is mostly in West Suffolk, but the county border runs through the edge of the town, so a few of its streets and one of its schools come under Cambridgeshire instead. Ely is wholly in East Cambridgeshire. If you’re buying in Newmarket, check which side of the border a home is on, because council tax, school admissions and local services are run by different councils on each side.
If you'd like Newmarket prices with a Cambridgeshire address, our Newmarket team suggests Burwell, which sits on the boundary. Our houses for sale in Burwell show what that looks like in practice.
What is each town like to live in?
Ely’s a small cathedral city, named among the Sunday Times Best Places to Live in 2021, and our Ely team picks out how safe and calm it is compared with much of the county. Most buyers are local movers and first-time buyers, with others coming from Cambridge for more space or from London for value and a direct line home. The most popular villages nearby are Stretham, Wilburton, Haddenham and Little Downham.
Newmarket’s built around horse racing, with about 2,500 acres of open land used mainly for training, some 3,000 horses across around 70 yards, and two of the five British Classics. The Town Charter restricts building in the town to protect the yards and gallops, so new housing is scarce. Buyers include first-time buyers and young families priced out of Cambridge, and people moving from Cambridge, north London and Essex. Schools include The Paddocks and St Louis primaries and Newmarket Academy, all run under Suffolk, and Ditton Lodge Primary, which has a Newmarket address but comes under Cambridgeshire’s local authority. Our guides to living in Ely and living in Newmarket go into each town in more detail.
Where is the value in each town?
Ely. The north side of the city is cheaper, at the cost of being further from the station. For new homes, there's a Hopkins Homes scheme off Cam Drive with its own primary school, a Taylor Wimpey development in the city, and Linden Homes building in Littleport.
Newmarket. Freshfields and Brickfields, both built as council estates, are the best-value streets. Exning Road is the one to watch, with new-build homes going up close to Tesco and the retail parks. At the top end, The Avenue, Bury Road, Crockfords Road and Hamilton Road are the most sought-after addresses.
Which town suits which buyer?
Ely suits you if the commute comes first, or if you want a detached house and can afford one. Detached homes there average £589,452 and sell close to asking. Cambridge is 15 minutes away and King's Cross 1 hour 10. Browse our property for sale in Ely to see what your budget buys today.
Newmarket suits you if budget comes first. Detached homes average £371,250 and sales complete in about six months instead of eight or nine. If you only need a semi, though, Newmarket saves you just £26,042 over Ely, so weigh that against the longer train. Filtering our houses for sale in Newmarket by price will show you where your budget lands.
Buying or selling in Ely or Newmarket?
If you're thinking of selling in either town, our local teams will value your home using the same completed-sales figures as this guide. Book a valuation to find out what it's likely to fetch.
Still weighing up where to move?
If neither town feels quite right, our guide to where to live if you work in Cambridge compares Ely and Newmarket with Saffron Walden and Haverhill. To see how Ely and Newmarket compare with renting in Saffron Walden and Haverhill, read our guide to renting near Cambridge.