Growing employment has contributed to increased competition for industrial space, higher property prices and more construction projects across the West Midlands, according to Bulleys.
The leading commercial property specialist was commenting after the Office of National Statistics (ONS) last week revealed that jobs in the West Midlands surged by 34,000 to 2.72 million in the three months to February, with people out of work falling by 12,000 to 143,000.
Meanwhile, the latest quarterly survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said there had been an “acceleration in the pace of growth” in the Midlands in the first quarter of 2018.
Noel Muscutt, partner at Wolverhampton-based Bulleys, said: “The latest ONS figures underline how more people in work across the region creates even more interest in property, leading to higher rents as well as more building projects to meet the growing demand in the future.
“This trend is supported by latest RICS’ survey which supports the view that the construction sector is responding positively to increasing competition for what’s currently a short supply of good quality industrial buildings.
“This means that land values continue to rise, industrial investment yields continue to harden and landowners are enjoying a robust performance in the industrial property sector across the West Midlands.”
Muscutt’s views come shortly after a raft of recent property successes for Bulleys, including all seven units measuring a total of 43,410 sq ft at the Planetary Industrial Estate in Wednesfield either let or under offer within six months of a £600,000 refit.
And the company is now marketing more than 37,000 sq ft of office space at the former Wolverhampton headquarters of Carillion, the construction and services giant which crashed into liquidation earlier this year, seeking offers in excess of £3 million.
Muscutt added: “There is plenty of interest in whatever comes up in the industrial and commercial property sector, and this is providing strong signs of a healthy marketplace.”