Is there a BBC property boom?

WHILE property in Manchester is almost half the price of that in London, it seems that the BBC staff who have opted to move north aren’t jumping into the property market just yet.

 “Chorlton is proving extremely popular with the BBC as the tram is due for completion very soon and will improve the transport links to Salford.”

According to the BBC, 89 staff have already moved to the city, with 301 more supposedly ‘in flight’.

Confidential decided to look at the two property markets and see what’s happening behind the headlines and how different the cost of property really is.

The price difference becomes particularly apparent when looking to buy a city centre apartment. The average price in central Manchester is £168,000 compared to a similar property in Shepherds Bush costing £311,349.

Similarly, the huge jump in price between family houses in desirable market towns is evident. A detached property is Knutsford, Cheshire is around £500,000 whereas the same sized property in Weybridge would be at least double that figure.

Statistics from the BBC show that of the relocating staff who already own properties in the south, 69% have indicated they will be purchasing a property in Manchester. Yet it seems that there hasn’t been much of an increase in sales enquiries in estate agents around the city.

Talking to local estate agents it becomes clear that the media may have slightly overhyped the number of staff who are already keenly looking at properties.

Daniel, a Residential Sales advisor at Thornley Groves said “It’s not had a massive impact. There have been more applicants from the BBC but not to the scale discussed”. Those who have bought property through the agency have been favouring the city centre over MediaCityUK as they’re wanting to get a more intense experience of Manchester life.

It seems to be a different story in regards to rentals; Thornley Groves told Confidential demand was outweighing the supply for properties in the BBC workers’ budgets in the city centre.

With the option to receive a monthly payment of up to £1900 per month for up to two years, staff certainly have enough money to rent in prime city centre locations and with many staff on short contracts with the BBC, it seems that renting is proving to be a favourable option.

Whilst buyers may be favouring the city centre and leafier suburbs, Ann Durrell of homes4u found, “Salford Quays is also proving to be a popular choice to rent, as it’s within close proximity to MediaCityUK and is also incredibly affordable with good-sized one bedroom apartments costing around £550 pcm.”

Away from the city centre, rentals are once again proving more popular. Denise, from Emma Hatton in Chorlton, said “I’ve not seen much in the buying market but in terms of rentals we’ve seen some interest,” but she also added, “we have had lots of enquiries but not too many takers so far”.

Also in Chorlton, JP & Brimelow staff said “We’ve maybe sold 5/6 properties to BBC clients in the last year,” with many of these being people who opted to buy properties early on, allowing them to rent the properties out for six months before moving into them upon relocation.

Amanda Wrenn, homes4u’s Chorlton branch manager, has a differing experience, “Chorlton is proving extremely popular with the BBC as the tram is due for completion very soon and will improve the transport links to Salford.”

She added, “Obviously property prices are much lower than in London and the Home Counties, and people are frequently surprised at how much you can get for your money in Manchester.”

Other agencies in Didsbury and Chorlton said they haven’t seen a significant increase in sales or lettings at all as a result of the BBC’s relocation program.

Still these are early days, as the relocations gather pace, and as new staff are recruited – for other companies as well as the BBC - most agree that there will be a MediaCityUK effect, but the jury’s out on how far it will boost the local property market.