6 Reasons you should buy investment property in Birmingham in 2021

A thriving economy, young population, and lack of supply, and so much more... a great reason to buy investment property in Birmingham in 2021.

1.      Birmingham Means Business

Birmingham may just be the UK’s current business hotspot. It is attracting enormous inward investment, from the UK and abroad. In 2017, the city received more than £1 billion of inward business investment – almost half the total investment in the West Midlands region. And, of the inward investment into Birmingham, around a third is from overseas. A great reason to buy investment property in Birmingham.

Increasing numbers of major organisations are choosing Birmingham as the location for their headquarters in the UK. These include major banks such as Lloyds, Deutsche Bank and HSBC.

It is not only big business that is blossoming in Birmingham. The number of businesses here has increased by more than 13% in the last year – that’s three times the average rate of business growth in the UK.

Birmingham is the star performer in the UK economy right now, and business growth and investment here is helping to grow the local population and create new jobs – and this is great news for property investors.

2.      Birmingham’s diverse economy is future-proofed

There are many examples of local economies that have grown rapidly and pulled property prices up, only for the house of cards to come crashing down. All such horror stories have one thing in common: the local economies relied on a single industry. Towns and cities in the North that were decimated when the coal industry collapsed. Aberdeen, so badly damaged when the oil price collapsed a few years ago. In the United States, Detroit’s property prices plunged when the car industry drove into a brick wall in 2008/9.

Birmingham’s economic growth is not based on a single industry or economic sector. It is home to a huge financial and professional services sector, but is also home to a large innovation hub, green and renewable energies industry, food manufacturing sector digital and creative companies, and one of the largest advanced manufacturing bases in the UK. A quarter of the UK’s aerospace industry is located in the West Midlands, and it is well known for its automotive presence.

This huge diversity of industrial and economic sectors makes Birmingham one of the most sustainable local economies in the UK – and this should future-proof economic growth and potential for buying investment property in Birmingham.

3.      a gold medal winner in the education race making is ideal to buy investment property in birmingham.

Buying investment property in Birmingham your tenants will well educated. Businesses need well-educated, highly qualified workers to grow. In Birmingham, new and growing businesses have a huge pool of talent to choose from, thanks to the five universities here: Aston University, Birmingham City University, University of Birmingham, Newman University, and University College Birmingham.

The big student population here – more than 110,000 – is a major factor in Birmingham’s status as the youngest city in Europe. Four in 10 of the city’s population are under 25 years old – the demographic that is most likely to rent, making the city a hotbed for buy-to-let investment property potential in Birmingham.

This will mean that if you buy investment property in Birmingham your investment will be secure well into the future. 

4.      Birmingham property is in demand and in short supply

Like most towns and cities in the UK, Birmingham’s supply of property is not enough to meet demand. Birmingham’s population is forecast to grow by more than 170,000 in the next 20 years. With this level of growth, it has been estimated that almost 4,500 new homes will need to be delivered every year to keep pace with demand in Birmingham.

There are only around 4,000 new homes in the pipeline this year, and this gap between supply and demand looks set to remain for some time. We're have a huge amount of experience and a variety of opportunities is you want to buy investment property in Birmingham. 

5.      the UK’s top-performing city to buy Investment property in Birmingham in 2021.

According to the UK Hometrack Cities House Price Index, Birmingham’s average property price have increased by 7.5% year-on-year. Rental yields are strong, too, with an average of above 6%. Therefore, an investment in Birmingham property a year ago would likely have yielded a gross total return of around 13.5%.

According to JLL’s UK Residential Forecast Report, despite a dip in prices in second half of 2021, it's expected that Birmingham will see the best house price growth over the next 5 years to 2025.

For Birmingham house prices and rental values will remain flat in 2021 with house prices going up 4% and rental value increasing by 3.5% in 2022.

The city is also seeing a growing housing shortfall. However, Birmingham City Council is seeking to accelerate the regeneration of council owned assets to deliver new mixed tenure housing solutions including private sale, build to rent, student accommodation and later living solutions.

 We suggest that before you buy investment property in Birmingham you consider the areas that are undergoing the most regeneration. These have the greatest upside for your investment when you eventually buy in Birmingham 

6.      Birmingham’s future is bright for property investors

A fast-growing, diverse economy with a young population is certainly attractive for property investors. The gap between supply and demand is helping to drive property prices up, and buy-to-let investors are benefitting from good rental yields. Ideal to buy investment property in Birmingham.

Knight Frank and LaSalle believe that these fundamentals will help Birmingham property prices to rise further and rents to stay strong:

Should you invest in property in Birmingham in 2021?