Hull is being re-energised by a flood of new investment and this is creating new jobs, particularly in the fields demanding high skills, such as renewable energy, advanced manufacturing, healthcare and the digital industries.
The city’s rise in fortunes are the results of several converging factors. One is the successful reinvention of the dock area as a centre of excellence for renewable energies such as offshore wind and energy for waste. This thriving sector has drawn huge sums of commercial investment and is sustaining an ever-growing supply chain.
Other factors include a successful education sector and the presence of one of the regions top universities. Hull is also a focal point for leading-edge healthcare research, and it hosts a wealth of well-established food and drink manufacturers. It will also benefit from Northern Powerhouse funding.
In 2017, Hull saw its economy buoyed by its status as UK city of culture. This helped to transform its visitor economy, stimulating business growth and delivering measurable improvements to the quality of life. In Hull, property owners are beginning to see the same positive effects that have been evident in previous cities of culture including Glasgow, European city of culture in 1990, and Liverpool European Capital of Culture 2008.
For a city of only 259,000 inhabitants, the economic impact of such a trend is difficult to overstate. It will inevitably boost average disposable income, it will draw new professional workers to the area and it should, therefore, fuel growing demand for high quality rented accommodation. What’s more, if Hull follows the same pattern as Glasgow and Liverpool into 2019 and beyond, then it should also see a marked and sustained rise in average property values.
Key Investment Areas
- The £200m Energy Works schema. Lead by the Spencer Group, this will create one of the country’s most advanced green energy facilities.
- New £450m enterprise zone
- A £130m facelift for the Albion Square complex
- The £86m transformation of Hull’s cultural quarters into a new creative hub that will generate new employment in the digital and media sectors.
- An award-winning transport interchange handling 24,000 passengers each day.
- A new university technical Collage costing £10m
- A new £16m cruise ship terminal
What are the Key Facts of Hull
Location: Yorkshire and Humber
Population: 258,700 (2016) 365,900 (working age) 42% under 35 (national average: 34%)
Population Growth: Estimated 10% by 2021
Education: 20% educated to degree level or higher
Economy: £8 billion
Growth rate in/ GVA: 43% ahead of UK average (2016)
Businesses: 10,000 approx. (rising steadily)
Who are the Major Employers in Hull
- ARCO – safety equipment
- ABP Associated British Ports
- Aunt Bessies
- Crown Paints
- Ideal Standard
- Reckitt Benkiser
- Sewell Group
- Siemens
- Spencer Group
- TJ Smith & Nephew
What are the Key Employment Sectors in Hull
Construction, Digital and media, Education, Finance and business services, Food and drink, Healthcare / medical, Manufacturing, Port and logistics, Renewable energy, Retail & leisure (including ), Tourism
The Northen Powerhouse
The Northern Powerhouse is a Government-backed economic development plan that seeks to rebalance the present pattern of investment in favour of northern towns and cities. Hull will be one of its beneficiaries. The Powerhouse scheme will facilitate improvements to transport and infrastructure, investment in science and technology, and the evolution of economic development powers through ‘city deals’.
How has the Hull Property Market Grown
By national standards, property prices in Hull are exceptionally affordable. Indeed, in March 2018, Zoopla revealed Hull to be the most affordable destination for first-time buyers across the whole of England and Wales.
In November 2018, Zoopla found that average house prices in Hull stood at £140,171, with flats selling for a little over £103,000. That compares against an average, for England, of £326,307 for houses and almost £313,000 for flats.
Figures published by the British Government in August 2018 show that average property prices in the East Riding of Yorkshire were £177,771, which is 2.5% up on the 2017 figure. This compares against an English average of £249,748.
Looking in Hull in particular, Rightmove notes that average prices stood at £120,879 over the 12 months to October 2018. This is substantially lower than the wider regional average. This is good news for investors looking to earn excellent yields, and when it comes to capital appreciation, the news is better still: according to forecasts by PwC, average prices in Yorkshire are set to rise well ahead of the UK average. This would see local prices grow from £155,000 to £182,000 by 2022.
In 2017, across the city as a whole, average values rose by 2.46% year on year, while in the central HU1 postcode, values rose by 3.1%. Moreover, if we look specifically at flats and apartments in the same central postcode, Zoopla records that average values have risen by more than 20% in the last five years. This trend is likely to continue, at least partly because there is a pronounced shortfall of available residential property in Hull, particularly at the higher end of the market where most professional tenants are likely to want to live. In fact, housing supply actually fell by 7% last year. Hull City council had previously stated that the market would require 14,440 new homes between 2011 and 2030, which equates to 880 per annum but, at present, the annual average is closer to 265. With a rising population and droves of new workers expected to enter the city in the coming years, this stark imbalance between supply and demand can only serve to push up capital values. For now, Hull offers an ideal investment proposition: low costs, rising demand and strong prospects for appreciable capital growth.
Get in Touch
Interested in property investment in Hull? talk with us directly, you can call us on +44 (0) 2039507939 or send us an email at [email protected]. If this is your first time landing on Thirlmere Deacon Property Investments, I encourage you to visit our homepage https://tdpropertyinvestment.com to read more about us and to see what we have on offer.
