2019 has been an incredibly positive year for the UK housing market, especially in regional cities such as Manchester and Birmingham. House prices are growing, buyer confidence is higher than ever and developers continue to deliver ambitious, innovative schemes to the market. But what does the next decade hold?
As the end of the year approaches, we’ve picked out our top housing market trends to watch out for in 2020 and beyond.
Inner city development
More and more people are choosing to live right in the heart of the UK’s most exciting cities, and this shows no signs of slowing down. For example, the latest State of the City Report from Manchester City Council shows that the city centre is estimated to see a population increase of at least 5,000 people a year until 2025.
Significant investment into the infrastructure of cities like Manchester has improved quality of life and employment prospects by attracting a greater number of businesses into the city centre – including both ambitious start-ups and established business giants. In turn, these businesses have created an economic boom which draws thousands of the UK’s most talented young professionals to the city.
Birmingham is another good example of this principle in practice, with a PwC research paper making note of such a rapid growth in employment, health, income and skills that the city ranks as the 5th most improved city in the UK.
All of this means demand in city centre housing markets is only going to increase over the next decade. There simply aren’t enough homes in places like Manchester or Birmingham for all the people who will want to move there, and the premium for luxury apartments close to local transport links and central business districts is only going to grow over the next year.
Price growth and yields
2019 saw concerns over the impact of Brexit on the housing market be proven wrong, with strong house price growth easing any worries that people may have had. What’s more, all indications are that this will continue in a similar vein over the next decade, particularly in the strongest regional housing markets.
This applies most to the booming regions in the North and the Midlands which have nowhere near enough homes for their current populations, and will continue to see growth which outstrips that seen in London and the South East. This is demonstrated by the latest Residential Property Forecast from Savills which shows house prices in the North West growing six times faster than those in the capital by 2024.
All of this growth will begin in 2020 following an extremely strong 2019. The past three years have taught us that political and economic conditions have had little effect on the housing market, and we expect next year will prove that to be true once again. Consistent house price increases, rapidly growing city centre markets and strong confidence among buyers will be the order of the day once again – and nowhere more so than in cities like Manchester and Birmingham.
If you are looking to buy a luxury city centre home in one of the UK’s fastest growing cities, have a look at our available properties today and get in touch.