Birmingham isn’t just England’s second city, it’s also the setting for the biggest UK housing market expansion in decades. The city has a truly exciting future, as it attracts greater levels of public and private investment in property development. It’s also attracting young professionals by the thousands, all of them keen to call it home. So, what is fuelling this rise in housing prices and availability? We look at the state of the market, and highlight some of the best apartments to rent in Birmingham.
Apartments to rent in Birmingham: best developments as rated by tenants
Now it’s time to showcase some of the best apartments available for rent in Birmingham today. The following list has based purely on the verified scores given to the developments by the people who actually live there. This gives you a full ‘insider’s view’ into what it’s really like to call these prime Birmingham apartments home.
*PLEASE NOTE these rankings take into account how many reviews a scheme has and how recently those reviews have been submitted, so may not match the overall star ratings shown. Buildings with a larger number of more recent reviews are given a greater weighting to reflect current building performance.
Living in Birmingham
Birmingham is the second-largest city in the UK, with over 1.2 million living within the main city area. It’s not just big, it’s also rich in history, culture and opportunity. From its medieval market town roots, it transformed itself into a manufacturing powerhouse during the industrial revolution. Today, it has completely changed its appearance once again, becoming one of the most important UK hubs for tech, healthcare, finance and services-based jobs.
This dramatic shift in purpose has changed the very look and feel of the city. Today, around 60% of Birmingham’s population is under 35, most of them young professionals. This influx of young people has in turn led to surging demand for new retail, dining, entertainment and cultural experiences. And, of course, it’s driving demand for smart yet affordable rental property.
This makes Birmingham a city that is constantly evolving. If you want to live somewhere with thriving nightlife, an outstanding restaurant and café culture, year-round festival opportunities, excellent schools and universities, and much more, then Birmingham delivers.
On top of all that, Birmingham has more canals than Venice and more trees than Paris. This makes it a beautiful, thrilling place to explore and fall in love with.
Birmingham’s Rental Market Boom
The surge of young professionals attracted to Birmingham means that renting is big business. While rents in London fell dramatically in the COVID-19 peaks of 2020 and 2021, prices remained flat in Birmingham. They then picked up dramatically in late 2021 and early 2022 as the vaccine rollout began to take effect.
Starting from 2022, over the next five years, the average value of Birmingham property is predicted to rise by 4.9% each year. Rental values will rise by 2.8 per cent per year as well. These are among the highest average house price/rental rate rises in the country, outstripping even London.
This is happening partially because the Birmingham housing market is significantly undersupplied. Recent reports suggest that 4,000 new homes need to be built per year for the next 10 years to keep pace with demand. However, only 900 new homes were built per year between 2010 and 2020.
All of this means that Birmingham is a strong growth market, one that developers want to tap into. As major milestones are reached – like hosting the upcoming Commonwealth Games and the completion of Phase 1 of HS2 – Birmingham’s appeal as a property development market, and rental market, will only grow.
If this list has given you the urge to explore Birmingham’s rental market further, check out our area guide below. This will give you a fuller understanding of what Birmingham has to offer, and where to look.
HomeViews provides verified resident reviews of the UK’s housing developments. We’re working with developers, house builders, operators, housing associations and the Government to recognise high performers and help improve standards in the built environment.
