Manchester has long been one of the UK’s most impressive and attractive property markets for both homebuyers and investors. We are now halfway through Q3 2022 and it is a good time to take stock of how the Manchester market is faring and what makes it so strong.
2022 has been a turbulent year in many ways. With inflation higher than ever and an unprecedented cost of living crisis underway, some are beginning to wonder whether the UK property market can continue its growth streak.
It is a fair question, and the answer as always is that it depends on the individual market you look at. Manchester, for example, is a great demonstration of a market that is strong and growing – and has the potential to continue doing so for many years to come.
Statistics from Alliance City Living at the end of Q2 2022 showed the strong position the Manchester housing market is in. The number of apartments available to rent in the city by July was just 664, representing a fall of 1,000 since the same time in 2021 and 1,700 since the same time in 2020.
Following this, Alliance City Living looked at rental trends across Manchester for July 2022. The average rent for a two-bed apartment in the city has topped £1,400 pcm for the first time. Furthermore, all unit types apart from studio apartments have reached record levels.
The number of homes being let in Manchester is at a high level. There were 976 rental homes let in July 2022, compared to 1,066 in the same month in 2021, 638 in 20202 – and 810 in pre-Covid July 2019.
This is a clear pattern and shows that demand for rental apartments in Manchester is both high and reliable. With the traditionally busy August and September market underway, we could see more record breaking months ahead – particularly for luxury city centre apartments of all sizes.
This is a perfect time to buy an investment apartment in Manchester, but that rental demand also points to the wider truth that there is a shortage of properties to buy as well – and this has caused house prices to grow extremely quickly.
The latest estimates from Manchester City Council show that a further 70,000 people are expected to move to the city by the end of the decade, but it is also the case that fewer than 20,000 units are under construction in the city.
Manchester’s economy is growing faster than that of the UK as a whole, and its incredible culture, connectivity and business-friendly environment is drawing more international companies to the city all the time. The likes of Microsoft, Amazon and more compliment homegrown giants such as AO and The Hut Group to create a city which has jobs and a work/life balance second to none. Indeed, Manchester was recently the most liveable city in the UK by the Economist for these and many other reasons.
Together, these factors combine to add up to one likely possibility – continuing house price growth in Manchester.
The latest Hometrack UK House Price Index, published in August 2022, shows Manchester house prices increasing by 9.2% year-on-year which is the fourth-highest level of growth in the country, and far more than seen in London and Birmingham.
The future prospects for Manchester’s house prices follow a similar trajectory. As per the aforementioned report from JLL, property price growth of 25.8% is predicted in Manchester by the end of 2026. This is significantly higher than the national average growth and reflects the fact that there will be a shortfall of tens of thousands of homes in one of the UK’s most attractive city centres.
This is serious capital appreciation that should appeal to both homebuyers and investors. This is the perfect time to buy property in Manchester city centre and give yourself the best chance to make a substantial profit.
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