With Manchester’s business and regenerated city centre booming, there has been a recent change in attitudes among young people as the value of living in the Northern Powerhouse becomes ever more apparent.
Following the BBC’s decision to move eight of their business divisions to Media City in Salford, a city directly to the west of Manchester, other businesses, including RBS and Freshfields, have followed suit. Media City is also scheduled to expand, aiming to double in size by 2026, generating even more local jobs.
In 2015, 70% of the 30,000 students who graduated in Manchester remained in the city to kick-start their professional careers, making it clear that young Brits are beginning to recognise the benefits of choosing Manchester over London.
Hatched, one of the original pioneers of online estate agency, has recently appointed Boltonian Gareth Hammond as its dedicated regional consultant for Manchester.
Gareth had this advice for young professionals looking to get onto the property ladder in and around the city: “Affordability is the main attraction; you get far more for your money in Manchester than in London, without compromising on quality. With many new and affordable apartment complexes springing up in prime locations, young professionals can live right in the heart of the action and be a part of a modern growing city that is only going to keep improving.
There has been a significant rise in apartment buildings in Castlefield, Deansgate and Salford Quays as more young professionals are looking for low maintenance properties close to business centres, industrial parks, new bars and nightlife; a two-bed high-end apartment in Castlefield, for example, is currently on the market for as little as £170,000.”
In comparison, a similar specification two-bedroom flat in London’s graduate-favourite turf, Clapham, will cost around £599,950. With a difference of over £400,000 between the two, it’s no wonder why millennials are starting to favour Manchester over the capital.
