Birmingham:
The UK’s booming 2nd Largest City

With the second largest population in the UK, Birmingham is known for its rich, cultural diversity and electric atmosphere. Recent regeneration projects happening across the city have meant Birmingham is now a hot bed of activity for property development.

The City has an economy of £24.8 billion, the strongest results recorded outside of London. Global businesses such as HSBC, Deutsche bank and PWC have all relocated their headquarters to the city, demonstrating a global appeal that doesn’t just halter at business enterprise.

Due to the rise in Birmingham’s profile, the city was announced as the new host for the 2022 Commonwealth Games. As the largest sporting event for the UK since the 2012 London Olympics, Birmingham takes the limelight on a global stage and as a result an estimated £750 million will be generated to boost its economy.

Birmingham is Europe’s youngest city; out of the current population, (which has experienced an increase in 100,000 between 2006 and 2016), 45.7% is estimated to be under the age of 30. Birmingham’s youthfulness and central location are two prevailing reasons why the city has created more businesses than anywhere else outside of the capital. Most recent recorded statistics show Birmingham experiencing 17,473 new business start ups throughout the city.

Project HS2, Europe’s largest infrastructure, worth £56 billion, is due to be introduced in 2026. This high scale project is focused on reducing travel time from Birmingham and the capital to one hour, raising the accessibility to a plethora of jobs for city commuters.

Increased demands of city centre living produce a faster rate of increasing house prices. With average house prices across the city amounting to an average proportionately affordable rate of £197,461, roughly 10,000 less than Manchester and more than £500,000 less than the average London property, Birmingham still has immense scope for further growth.

An accumulation of 65,000 students across 5 Birmingham universities results in landlords looking to the city to secure the best investments for ambitious graduates choosing to reside in the city.

Currently seeking more inward investment than any other UK region, in addition to the city’s continued undersupply of available homes to meet demands, this is an ideal time for landlords to consider a highly lucrative investment into a prime city centre location.