THE FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT FOR BIRMINGHAM

Monday, 21 February 2022

With Birmingham establishing itself as the city of choice for investors with a keen interest in the UK,  the latest Deloitte report has now been released and it makes for great reading. 

The report tells us that over the last 12 months, Birmingham has successfully completed over 1million SqFt of real estate. With more and more of our clients expressing clear intent to add Birmingham to their portfolio, the upcoming events such as the Commonwealth Games will allow the city to show the world the incredible development that the city has been undergoing! And with HS2 well underway, Birmingham finds itself in a position where external factors point to good, consistent and sustainable property growth. 

According to Deloitte, Birmingham saw a 250% increase in the number of new residential schemes in 2021 when compared with 2020. With 14 new schemes breaking ground last year, and 3,600 unit’s completing over the last 2 years, developers are dedicating a lot of their focus into Birmingham, and yet the supply shortfall continues to be an issue. This year, 2,330 units are expected to handover with the vast majority already purchased on the off-plan market.

The Jewellery Quarter has seen developments more than double in 2021. As one of Birmingham’s most desirable location’s, the efforts to increase availability have been drastic. The home of our flagship development, Scholar’s Quarter, the Jewellery Quarter area of Birmingham has become an ever-increasing choice for investors in the international space. With the relocation of offices for companies such as PWC and KPMG, the Jewellery Quarter is booming with young, working professionals, whom of which are seeking elegant, modern properties for rent. With Birmingham as a whole showing incredible resurgence in the last few years, supply is playing catch up, with 23% of all new homes in Birmingham being built in the Jewellery Quarter itself. 

Birmingham has embraced the growth and is working hard to ensure that the city as a whole is able to grow sustainably, ensuring that infrastructure within the city is maintaining pace with the residential demand. In addition, a work/life balance is high on the agenda. As quoted in the Deloitte release, a ‘£1.9 billion scheme’ is imminently being built on the ‘former home of Birmingham’s Wholesale Market’s, it will create new office space along with sustainable city living and a new leisure and culture quarter.’ Birmingham’s visit of the Commonwealth Games this year has led to new hotels being built across the city, with an expectation of around ‘one million visitors to the city over the duration of the games’.

The additional regeneration of Paradise and Exchange Square will ‘continue to bring forward ne retail opportunities, as will the new Smithfield development when it comes to fruition’. This constant development on all fronts is paramount to Birmingham’s continued growth. With ‘over 85,500 students in the city’, ensuring that Birmingham continues to cater to people from all walks of life is fundamental to ensuring students remain in the region post studies. With 79% of students in Birmingham coming from the UK, the opportunity for this to happen is much greater than other Universities, and presents an opportunity that Birmingham must continue to capitalise on. 

This Deloitte report comes at a time when Birmingham is capturing the attention of investors all over the world. The steady and consistent increase in property values and rental yields, has ensured that Birmingham has staked its claim as the number one location outside of London. Developments are sold shortly after they are announced, and the supply still cannot keep up with the demand within the city. Having rallied through the pandemic, capitalised on the benefits that HS2 will bring, Birmingham is on a well-planned, sustainable route back to the super-city status it used to have. 

RPA Group have multiple developments in the city, from well-reputed developers within the UK. To discuss the city, the developments or to see how you can get involved, give me a call or drop me an email, and I will be happy to walk you through it.