Choosing an area to invest in property can be daunting, challenging and confusing especially after digesting the various information you read and see online. In this blog we aim to simplify a lot of the information and give you some of the key reasons as to why buying property in Milton Keynes could prove to be an excellent investment.
First some background:
Milton Keynes was designated as a new town in the 1960’s when the UK Government decided that a further generation of new towns in the south east of England was needed to relieve housing congestion in London. The site was chosen specifically as it is equidistant from London, Birmingham, Leicester, Oxford and Cambridge. With the intention that it would become a major regional centre and be self-sustaining.
At the 2011 census the population of the Milton Keynes urban area, including Newport Pagnell and Woburn Sands, was 229,941 and the wider borough was 248,800, an increase in population of around 195,000 since 1961. According to Community Action MK, by mid-2015 the population was estimated at around 260,000. The Cities Outlook Report 2015 states, by Centre of Cities, Milton Keynes was the fastest growing city in the UK by population with an annual growth rate of 1.6%.
Why is Milton Keynes a good area to invest?
1) Fantastic Transport Links:
ROAD:
Milton Keynes is conveniently located close to major motorways and A rounds, such as, the M1, A5 & the A1, allowing commuters easy access to a number of nearby cities and towns such as Northampton, Coventry, Leicester, Birmingham, Luton and of course, London.
Furthermore, Milton Keynes Central Train Station offers a brilliant commute to London Euston in just 36 minutes.
AIR:
The nearest international airport is Luton Airport accessible by coach from MK Central Station. There is also a direct rail connection to Birmingham International Station for Birmingham Airport.
BUS:
Many long-distance coaches stop at Milton Keynes Coachway located besides the M1 at junction 14 of the M1.
2) Wide Open Green Spaces:
The planning phase of the town was ambitious and imagined a “forest city” and that vision was realised by planting a staggering 22 million trees and shrubs. Two fifths of Milton Keynes is open space with over 6,000 acres of parkland, rivers, lakes and woodland. The town is the perfect destination for days out enjoying water sports, archery, fishing, walking or horse riding with over 100 miles of pathways and bridleways in Milton Keynes.
3) Economy and Employment:
Rating company Experian, describe Milton Keynes as one of the leaders in a prospective economic recovery in November 2012. The Estates Gazette also placed Milton Keynes number one for office property growth outside the M25.
Milton Keynes excellent geographical location means it is home to several national and international companies, including the UK headquarters of Argos, Domino’s Pizza, Marshal Amplification, Mercedez Benz, Suzuki, Volkswagen, Audi Group, Rightmove and several others. There also huge distribution centres for major companies within Milton Keynes. John Lewis, AG Barr & Amazon to name a few.
Milton Keynes is also the number one location for start ups outside London and within the top ten for new patents registered.
The average salary in Milton Keynes is £31,022 per year. The most prominent industry of employment is distribution, retail, hotels and restaurants.
According to Adzuna, salaries in Milton Keynes have increased 6.9% year on year while the national annual change is 2.4%.
Milton Keynes has reasonably good employment rates with 74% of people who live in the region are in paid employment. A higher than average 48% of people work normal full-time hours of between 35 – 45 hour per week.
4) Investment
A 15-year partnership began in 2015. Recent large-scale buildings include The Pinnacle MK on Midsummer Boulevard and the Vizion development on Avebury Boulevard. The Network Rail National Centre has been built in Silbury Boulevard; this building occupies a large land area but only rises to the equivalent of six stories; a return towards the design of the original central Milton Keynes developments.
RegenerationMK is the Council’s programme that is focussing on providing the neighbourhoods with improved housing, public space and supporting and empowering communities through increased skills and access to employment.
Milton Keynes has the go ahead for an impressive new retail and leisure development. The work at Intu Milton Keynes is part of a 1.5bn development pipeline in the UK over the next 10 years by Intu.
5) Housing Stock & Tenure:
There are 96,521 dwellings within Milton Keynes, 16.6% of properties are flats, with houses making up 83.4% of housing stock. 63.4% of households own their own homes while 17.5% live in privately rented accommodation.
In the last five year there have been 5180 new private homes built across the Local/Unitary Authority of Milton Keynes, an average of 1036 per year.
Overview:
According to the Hometrack report, Milton Keynes is one of the top ten locations where prices are rising the fastest and it shows no signs of slowing down in 2020. As development starts on one of the most significant projects in a decade, which includes a boutique cinema, dining area, public spaces and new retail locations, central Milton Keynes is the first step in a wave of regeneration.
Commercially, Milton Keynes is mostly recognised for its IT and innovation performance. With the third highest number of business start-ups per 10,000 of the UK population and strong economic performance, Milton Keynes is a key member of the Fast Growth Cities group that has resulted in nearly 20% of its workforce joining the knowledge sector. It’s these advancements that are contributing to Milton Keynes rapid rise – the city is expected to double its population to 500,000 by 2050.