Investors Turn To Second City

When it comes to redevelopment, Birmingham isn’t a city to stand still. The past twenty years have transformed the city centre into a vibrant and thriving place to live, work and play and this has seen second city property investment soar.

The sea of cranes across Birmingham’s skyline serve as a reminder that there is still more to come and property investors are increasingly recognising the attractiveness of the region.

A recent report on  residential pricing from Knight Frank stated in their UK Residential Market Update for January 2018.

‘The underlying picture on pricing has changed, with average falls in pricing across Greater London (-0.5%) versus stronger growth in the West Midlands (5.2%). This is a reversal of the trend seen in recent years, where London has led from the front in terms of price growth.’

There are varying projections of how London will perform in 2018, but even the most optimistic commentators are anticipating a slowdown in growth. Conversely, Birmingham is among a cluster of cities expected to see an upward trajectory in prices and investors are looking to reap the rewards.

So, why is the city expected to be a ripe area for property investors now?

Well, the first thing to be clear on is that it hasn’t happened by accident. Birmingham’s renaissance is the culmination of the vision and ambition of both public and private sector organisations who want the city to fulfill its potential and attract further investment.

Just 3 years back, the opening of Grand Central put the city firmly in the spotlight and it certainly lives up to its name and sets the tone of what is to come for visitors to the city. This is just one of many high-profile projects, but it has a particularly significant impact as it provides an impressive new gateway into Birmingham.

Many businesses are being welcomed to the city, HSBC is in the process of moving its UK headquarters to Birmingham, and this is helping to drive growth in construction levels – the health of the city’s construction sector was recently underlined by figures from Deloitte showing how Birmingham is building offices at its highest rate in a decade.

And there are no signs of the city’s resurgence slowing down, especially with HS2 on the horizon. This is a major boost for the city, which will significantly enhance transportation links, as well as bringing jobs to the city and sparking further construction for the supporting infrastructure around HS2.

It seems the plan has come together for the UK’s so-called ‘second city’ and it is now enjoying the result of two decades of determination. All eyes will be on growth rates for 2018 and how the UK’s regional cities perform against London.

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