Birmingham’s city centre has grown as a desirable place to live for many of the city’s young professionals, especially over the past couple of years. As yet, however, the residential development market has not responded sufficiently to meet this growing demand. This is partly because the latest wave of demand is relatively new, but is also because of the scarcity of available, developable sites in the city centre. These dynamics have pushed sales prices and rents higher.
Residential Forecasts: West Midlands
Key highlights:
• House prices in the West Midlands are now rising faster than the UK average with an increase of 5.4% in 2017
• Birmingham has been and will continue to be the key driver of this region’s economic growth
• Birmingham city centre rents have risen due to lack of available stock, with two bedroom flats increasing by 2.8% in 2017
• C. 3,750 units currently under construction in Birmingham