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Birmingham Job Growth Outpaces Housing

As Birmingham job growth increases, the number of people living in Birmingham will rise by 171,000 to a total of 1.3 million people by 2039. With significant infrastructure, development and incoming investment increase bringing thousands of new jobs to the city and subsequently fueling population growth, Birmingham is steaming ahead in status and appeal but it’s still falling short of meeting tenant demand. Simply put, Birmingham has an undersupply of housing in the city centre.

In real terms, the predicted population growth translates into a need for nearly 100,000 additional households over the next two decades. However, as official data from Knight Frank shows, this means that development rates need to increase significantly. Between 2011 and 2016, around 8,000 homes were completed in Birmingham whereas demand was actually closer to 20,000.

With city centre apartment living continuing to grow in popularity in line with an influx in job creation, as it stands, the population of the city is growing three times faster than homes are being built, so tenant demand has never been higher thanks to the continuation of Birmingham job growth.

Where is this tenant demand coming from?

Birmingham is currently enjoying a wave of investment with significant projects such as HS2, Paradise and a series of big firms including HSBC and Deutsche Bank relocating their headquarters to the city centre. Already boasting the largest professional, financial and commercial hub outside of London, the city is fast becoming a magnet for new commercial opportunities, showcased by the number of active businesses in Birmingham increasing by 13.5%, three times the average UK growth rate.

Of course, with this comes an influx of new jobs. Throughout 2017 alone, 148,000 new jobs were created in the West Midlands and over the last decade, Birmingham has held the third-highest jobs growth rate in the UK, sitting at 30%. As these figures continue to increase, and the attraction of city centre lifestyle continues to gain pace, more and more workers begin to move in.

The other major aspects of this rising tenant demand are residents moving from London. With Birmingham experiencing more commercial development than London, this city is a great draw for people who are looking for new work and lifestyle opportunities with a much lower cost of living. Equally, as property prices rise around the Capital, many young families and professionals are looking to move further afield.

With the completion of HS2 edging closer, commuters are being given the choice to work in London and live in Birmingham, maintaining the great salaries available in the South whilst living with the increased affordability of the Midlands.

Over the last two years, Birmingham was the most popular city destination for people moving out of London, sitting ahead of Manchester, Leeds and Bristol. Although a large percentage of the movers are students joining Birmingham’s excellent universities, a significant proportion of this number is young families and professionals.

Given this ongoing upward spiral in Birmingham job growth and major development, the demand for both city centre living and properties in nearby villages and suburbs such as Moseley and Kings Heath continues to grow. People are looking to Greater Birmingham, whether it’s the re-modelled city centre or the surrounding area.

Source: Birmingham and Surrounds: Residential Market Insight 2018 

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