Birmingham is one of the most renowned and popular cities in the country. Located right in the heart of the UK, the city has seen significant regeneration throughout recent years, allowing it to blossom into one of the most exciting economical hubs in Britain, with no signs of slowing down. The continuous regeneration has also seen Birmingham’s property market soar in, with a large number of investment opportunities on offer throughout the city.
​ The Big City Plan
Back in 2010, Birmingham city council launched one of the most ambitious regeneration plans of all time, aptly named the Big City Plan, with the aim of completely transforming its city centre. The Big City Plan, spanning over 20 years, set out to increase the size of the city centre core by 25%, improve transport links throughout the city and surrounding areas, increase the number of new homes and new jobs in the centre and launch several exciting developments in all 7 ‘quarters’; City Centre Core, Eastside, Digbeth, Southside and Highgate, Westside and Ladywood, the Jewellery Quarter and the Gun Quarter.
One of the most prominent developments in the city was the refurbishment of Birmingham New Street station. Work began on the £388 million refurbishment in April 2010, with the redevelopment set to include; a new concourse that was over triple the size of the previous 1960s concourse with an increase in natural lighting thanks to a domed atrium at the centre, new escalators and lifts leading to completely refurbished platforms and a new station façade with brand new entrances. By September 2015 the development had completed and was open to the public, completely transforming the station for the better and drastically improving the overall passenger experience.
Another extremely notable development that has taken place since the conception of the Big City Plan is The Library of Birmingham. The new library was constructed at Centenary Square beside the Birmingham Rep and Baskerville House in order to replace the Birmingham Central Library in 2013. The development was estimated to have cost around £193 million and is seen by the council as one of the city’s defining developments in the Birmingham regeneration. The library was extremely well received by the public, and since its opening has won a number of awards for its design and architecture.
Commonwealth Games
Alongside the ambitious Big City Plan, Birmingham is set to receive a massive £778 million investment to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games. This enormous investment makes the 2022 Commonwealth Games the most expensive sporting event in Britain since the 2012 Olympic Games in London. A large section of money is set to go towards the development of the Perry Barr Athletes village, set to house an estimated 6,500 in around 1,000. The village is set to comprise of an array of one and two-bedroom apartments as well as three and four-bedroom townhouses.
In addition to the Athletes village, there will be a £60 million state of the art aquatic centre, significant investment into transport infrastructure in the area and a new SPRINT rapid bus route. The event is set to be the biggest in the city’s history, with over a million people estimated to attend and a further 1.5 billion watching on TV. Birmingham’s economy is set to receive a massive boost from the games, with a number of opportunities for business and trade, cultural engagement, jobs, education and tourism opening up as a result of the games. It is estimated that the city’s economy will experience a £1.5 billion boost.
Property Investment Birmingham
With the immense amount of investment that Birmingham has both received and expected to undergo, the property market has seen an exponential boost. The tenancy demand throughout the city has improved drastically and will continue to do so as more and more developments come to fruition. The city had a large number of attractive amenities in the first place, with easily accessible transport in and around the city, some of the country’s top universities, a booming food and drink scene and ever improving business and tourist opportunities, all making Birmingham an idyllic location for many.
Since the start of the Big City Plan the population has continued to grow and shows no sign of slowing down, resulting in an increase in property prices. Zoopla recently carried out a study and found that average property prices had risen by 1.48% from October 2018, with the average currently standing at £200,000. Sale prices were also up by 4% during the same period, a massive 17.5% since 2016. The Birmingham property market is expected to continue in this upward trajectory for the foreseeable future, with Knight Frank anticipating that house prices will rise by 12.5% by the time the Commonwealth Games come around in 2022.
Birmingham is one of the most exciting cities in the UK for property investors. The influx of impressive developments as well as the upcoming Commonwealth Games will only add to the city’s prosperity in the coming years, with investors from far and wide looking to the city for their next investment. Are you interested in investing in the Birmingham property market? Take a look at some of our tenanted, income generating properties here.
