London has dominated the property market for many years, but prices in the capital and the south-east are now beginning to mature. As such, the global marketplace is beginning to recognise that there is life beyond London, and Manchester is increasingly becoming an international destination and brand for investors.
Guest Blog: Caroline Marshall-Roberts, Group CEO, BuyAssociation Marketplace
London has dominated the property market for many years, but prices in the capital and the south-east are now beginning to mature. As such, the global marketplace is beginning to recognise that there is life beyond London, and Manchester is increasingly becoming an international destination and brand for investors.
It’s great to see more people discover Manchester. The number of young professionals leaving the capital and heading up to the north-western city has grown to its highest levels, lured by improving job markets, transport links and amenities, as well as better affordability. In the year to mid-2016, a total of 4,150 people migrated from London to Manchester, of which 1,136 were young professionals aged 30-39.
Generation Rent is a strong market in Manchester, with the ratio of rental to sale properties on offer now at 50:50. Manchester was last year named as a build-to-rent hotspot, with more than 5,500 purpose-built, professionally managed rental homes under construction as of last March – a figure which is likely to have boomed since then as thousands were in various stages of planning and application at the time.
More businesses are also finding homes in the city. The BBC has had headquarters in Salford’s MediaCityUK since 2011, along with ITV, Bupa and SIS, and there are more expected to follow as commercial space in the city is competitively priced compared to London.
Times are challenging in the UK property market, as houses are in short supply and funding projects is expensive. Investors and buy-to-let landlords who are transforming properties for rent and sale are sparking positive regeneration for many areas of Manchester, which is having the snowball effect of attracting more people and more investment.
The city of Manchester is a beacon of change in the north-west, and smaller towns and cities in the region are seeing huge benefits as investment spreads to places like Preston, Liverpool and surrounding areas.
At BuyAssociation, we exit projects for developers and offer investors exclusive, early access to property stock and products in emerging and established locations. We’re proud to be ambassadors for the north-west and Manchester, and we’re continuing to see increasing numbers of both individual and institutional investors approaching us for opportunities in the area.