Birmingham City Centre rental prices rise faster than UK rivals

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Rents for Birmingham’s city centre flats rose at the quickest pace of the UK’s Big Six cities last year, according to research from global property advisor JLL.

The ‘Big Six’ research, which tracks residential development activity, prices and rents across Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Bristol, Edinburgh and Glasgow, showed that average rents in Birmingham grew by 9.5% last year, the highest of those analysed. Edinburgh recorded the second highest, at 6.9%, while growth in Bristol was 4.5%.

Rents across the city have been driven by increasing demand, particularly among the growing student population, and a lack of new listings to the market.

The average price of new build apartments has risen by 4.1% over the year, driven by increased demand for more affordable homes. Birmingham has one of the lowest average prices of new builds across the Big Six, at £297,000.

William Cox, director of residential markets at JLL Birmingham, said: “With strong forecasted economic growth for the coming years, Birmingham is sought after city for students and young professionals. Offering homes which are more affordable than other Big Six cities and great access to higher education and employment opportunities.

“What’s needed now is an increase in delivery of higher quality flats to keep pace with demand enabling Birmingham to continue to thrive, retaining talent crucial to future growth.”

Marcus Dixon, director of UK residential research at JLL, said: “Sustained demand for city centre living has supported growth in prices and rents for new homes in most markets across the Big Six.

“The UK’s housing market continues to show resilience, that, along with the outlook for 2025 and beyond, should give investors and developers optimism.”