Commonwealth Games to boost Birmingham housing market

Research by estate and lettings agent, Barrows and Forrester, reveals that the upcoming Commonwealth Games could help boost the local Birmingham housing market by as much as 15%.

This week, Birmingham is due to host the 22nd Commonwealth Games and Barrows and Forrester has taken a look at how the legacy of hosting such an event can help cultivate positive house price growth in the years following – based on the housing market performance seen across other previous host cities.

Since 1970, the UK has hosted the Commonwealth Games four times and in the year following each event, property values increased by an average of 14.9% across these host cities.

In 1970, Edinburgh was the host city and, at the start of the games, the local average house price was £5,487. Twelve months after the games, the average price had increased to £6,799 representing an annual rise of 23.9%.

In 1986, Edinburgh played host again. This time, the city’s average house price at the start of the games was £41,490. A year later, an increase of 5.8% had brought the average up to £43,899.

In 2002, it was Manchester’s turn to host the games. As the torch was lit at the opening ceremony, the city’s average house price was £65,691. A year later, it had increased to £81,532, a rise of 24.1%.

In 2014, the games went back to Scotland, this time to Glasgow. As the competition commenced, the average house price was £107,648 and a year later it was up to £113,668, an increase of 5.6%.

So what does this mean for Birmingham?

Well, based on the current Birmingham house price of £222,834, an average Commonwealth house price boost of 14.9% would see property values climb to £255,934 by this time next year.

Managing Director of Barrows and Forrester, James Forrester, commented: “Birmingham has already enjoyed an extensive and ongoing period of regeneration and future plans to continue this regeneration will further cement us as the UK’s second city.

The choice to host the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham is testament to how far we’ve come in this respect and this privilege will not only help to put the city further on the map, it will bring a huge boost to the local economy and will entice more businesses, and people, into calling the city home in the process.

This heightened demand will inevitably help to cultivate local property prices as more buyers enter the market. You need only look at the huge boost the Olympic regeneration project brought to the London Borough of Newham to see that an exciting time lies ahead, not only for Birmingham’s housing market, but for the city as a whole.”