Birmingham

Birmingham is the UK’s largest city outside London and one of the youngest in Europe, with 40% of its population under 25. Located in the heart of the UK, 90% of the population can drive to Birmingham in under four hours.

The city is undergoing massive regeneration. The £700m Paradise project is Birmingham’s most significant development in a generation, creating 1.8m sq ft of new office, retail and leisure space in the city centre. Then the £1bn Smithfield project will generate new shops, hotels, a public square and 2,000 homes, delivering 3,000 new jobs and £470 million to the city economy.

The planned HS2 rail network will cut travel time between Birmingham and London to under 50 minutes; combined with broader regeneration initiatives, the development will bring £1.5BN to the economy and 22,000 jobs to the region.

With the highest quality of life in the UK after London – but with a cost of living that is 60% less – Birmingham is expected to see rapid growth over the next few years. The average price per square foot in Birmingham is expected to increase from £242 to £500 by 2020 in the city’s highest quality developments, making it a prime location for property investment.

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Sources: Hometrack.com; TotallyMoney.com; Centre for Cities.