MediaCity leads to Salford becoming the UK's property hotspot

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jul/22/salford-mediacity-property-prices-boom

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Property values in the Greater Manchester city of Salford have risen faster than in any other town in Britain since the start of 2014, it was claimed on Tuesday, as the area continues to benefit from the relocation of the BBC and other broadcasters to the waterfront MediaCity development.

Since January the average value of a home in Salford has increased by 12%, or £14,874, to stand at £138,619, according to the property website Zoopla – a growth rate faster than even London, where values went up by 8.2% over the same period. However, the average home in the capital is still worth considerably more, at £567,392 according to Zoopla.

The figures, which are based on the website's running estimate of the market value of UK homes calculated using a number of factors including recent sold prices for each property and similar homes nearby, showed that the average British home increased in value by £90 a day over the first half of the year to hit £260,488. After Salford, Brough in East Yorkshire and St Leonards-On-Sea in East Sussex also saw strong growth, with values rising by 11.9% (£25,184) and 11.8% (£19,690) respectively.

Ben Eastham, of estate agents Reed Rain, in Salford, said Zoopla's figures rang true. "The new year kicked in and suddenly all of the first time buyers appeared," he said. "I don't think it's all down to MediaCity – that wasn't built in January, but it kept Salford going when the market was bad … now everyone seems to have money and there's more confidence."

Russell Quirk, founder of online estate agency eMoov.co.uk, said demand for properties in Salford on his site had leapt since February and the multi-million pound investments in MediaCity, Salford City Stadium and other regeneration projects made it a hotspot for buyers. "With large amounts of jobs generated by the recent developmentsand property prices in Manchester seeing a rise in recent years, the area is bringing in a middle class regeneration and we expect to see increased desirability in the area, with demand and prices rising accordingly."

However, while the return of rising property prices which started in London has been rippling out to the regions, Zoopla claimed that in some parts of the country homes are worth less than at the turn of the year. In Wadebridge in Cornwall, it said, values fell by 2.1%, to an average of £342,192, and in Ryton, Tyne & Wear, they dropped by 1.9%.