# House prices in birmingham



## Hellsbells (Jun 10, 2008)

Out of curiousity i've been looking up house prices in b'ham on my budget - which would be a maximum of 90K. And there seems to be the odd few around - 2 and even some 3 bed properties  Is this normal? Do you think they're complete misprints or scams?  
Most of them seem to be Northfield. Maybe this is a really rough area


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## baldrick (Jun 10, 2008)

Hellsbells said:


> Most of them seem to be Northfield. Maybe this is a really rough area


it's not the nicest area but it's not lozells either.


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## Hellsbells (Jun 10, 2008)

what about Upper Witton and West Heath? 

Where's a good but cheap area of B'ham to buy? I'm just trying to work out what i could potentially afford outside of London.


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## baldrick (Jun 10, 2008)

Upper Witton is Aston/Perry Barr border.  More Perry Barr than Aston, probably.

I wouldn't rule the area out, but i would be careful.  Perry Barr is ok, Aston less so.

West Heath is miles and miles out of the city centre, near Longbridge. As an area it look fairly ok.


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## baldrick (Jun 10, 2008)

I'm not an expert on Brum, I only moved here a few years ago.  

Erdington, Kings Heath, possibly Moseley and Billesley.  Cotteridge, Acocks Green maybe?  No idea on the last two, that was a guess going by location


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## ymu (Jun 10, 2008)

£90K sounds plausible. It'S ~£120k for a 2-bed mid-terrace here, but we got gentrified recently and prices got pushed up by rich folk fleeing the prices in Harborne.

I'd get on the phone to some estate agents and ask them to send some details in your price range for a bunch of different areas - Connells and a number of other chains operate everywhere. Brum is pretty varied so I'd spend some time getting to know the different areas too, once you've narrowed it down. North/West is generally a bit cheaper but it doesn't break down that simply - and there are a lot of areas on the up, so if you're buying it's worth knowing where they are.

Aston/Perry Barr can be a bit bleak - motorway lined with houses in a lot of places - but parts of it are pretty nice.


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## baldrick (Jun 10, 2008)

Oldbury/Smethwick also might be worth considering, though they're Sandwell rather than Birmingham.


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## ymu (Jun 10, 2008)

baldrick said:


> Oldbury/Smethwick also might be worth considering, though they're Sandwell rather than Birmingham.


I'm in the south bit of  Smethwick (Bearwood). It is cheaper further north towards Oldbury. Winson Green, (bit further east, in Birmingham proper), might still be in that price range also.


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## baldrick (Jun 10, 2008)

yeah, i deliberately left out bearwood   it is a nice area, but getting a bit pricey.

I wouldn't recommend winson green, unless you know of any nice bits? you might do.  my bf used to live on bacchus rd, in a vile house.  his dad is a landlord and desperately trying to get rid of the property he owns in winson green.


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## ymu (Jun 10, 2008)

baldrick said:


> yeah, i deliberately left out bearwood   it is a nice area, but getting a bit pricey.
> 
> I wouldn't recommend winson green, unless you know of any nice bits? you might do.  my bf used to live on bacchus rd, in a vile house.  his dad is a landlord and desperately trying to get rid of the property he owns in winson green.


There's an old brewery in Winson Green that I bitterly regret not buying at the time (£40k and it was fucking huge!) - I didn't have the money needed to do it up. But yeah, the area was a factor. I haven't been past the prison in ages so I don't know how it's fared since then.

Bearwood's fucking ridiculous. When I moved in there were two cab firms and a greasy caff at the end of my road - and the greasy caff didn't have any toilets but they had an agreement with the bookies next door. Now it's all fucking Bistros and posh clothes shops, the garage has turned into flats and there's barely any useful shops left before the main High Street (my blessed hardware man excepted).

The one good thing is that we have managed to avoid too many chains moving in - it's still mostly independents, which is why I stopped here in the first place.


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## miss direct (Jun 10, 2008)

why don't you ask me!!

Northfield is ok, depends exactly which part though. 

You could look up areas just outside Birmingham too, eg Sandwell, Dudley. There are quite a lot of houses under 100k there.


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## mentalchik (Jun 10, 2008)

Blimey, you'd just about get a 1 bedroom flat for £120,000 here in Northampton !


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## ChrisFilter (Jun 10, 2008)

And there's no such thing as a £90k property in London... still, there's a reason places are cheap I guess; less work.


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## Stanley Edwards (Jun 10, 2008)

What's Handsworth like these days?


There are huge estates not so far from inner-city that were all sold off about 20 years ago. I would seriously look at places like Castle Vale for very affordable crap


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## Stanley Edwards (Jun 10, 2008)

I just Googled.

I would take O.I.R.O at 100k to mean 60k ATM. 

Seriously 

Or,  depending on your house owning status.


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## Stanley Edwards (Jun 10, 2008)

Now we're talking future investment 

Great area that will 'come clean' eventually.

Bus, tram, train to city center very easy. Good old fashioned Victorian architecture and parks etc. Even has a prison just like Brixton!

http://www.findaproperty.com/searchresults.aspx?edid=00&salerent=0&areaid=3266

50K!!!


e2a; 50% shared 


On the other hand, WBA have just put themselves on the market. Could change the area lots 


Sparkbrook looks interesting also. Almost makes me think 'go buy a shit hole in a shit city with little sunshine for twice the price you can buy a nice pad city center in sunny Granada'. Almost.

New builds/reformed 1 bed flats here in very, very, very prime locations for less than 90,000€ (£70K at current exchange and likely to get better). Shit pay mind if you have to work locally. 

IT'S ALL RELATIVE!


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## baldrick (Jun 11, 2008)

I think you should just come to birmingham and have a look round if i'm honest.

Buy a daysaver ticket and spend a day on the number 11 bus which goes fucking everywhere 

I'm no expert on cheap areas to live at all, i think the best thing is to have a look for yourself and see what you think is nice.  loads of areas have bad reputations, but when you actually get there they look ok.

i know people who live in handsworth, hockley, newtown, and they're happy there.  it all depends!


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## Hellsbells (Jun 11, 2008)

miss direct said:


> why don't you ask me!!
> .



Because you don't have internet access anymore!!


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## Hellsbells (Jun 12, 2008)

It's all very much in the future hypothetical stuff at the moment, as I would have a huge amount to sort out first. 

I'm just so used to living in London and looking at london house prices that I find it absoultely amazing that you can buy a 2 or 3 bedroom house in B'ham for 85K. I've had another look today and seen several really nice looking places in Erdington. And I figure if I did buy a 2 or 3 bed house, then I could potentially rent out at least one of the rooms to help pay off the mortgate. And for company. 

I realllly need to move out of London!!!


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## baldrick (Jun 12, 2008)

ChrisFilter said:


> And there's no such thing as a £90k property in London... still, there's a reason places are cheap I guess; less work.


i don't think that's true in general.  for certain sectors, yes.


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## dirtyfruit (Jun 12, 2008)

Have you factored in the rising cost of running a car? I only ask because moving around in Brum without a car can be incredibly time consuming IME.


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## baldrick (Jun 12, 2008)

what are you on about? public transport in brum is pretty good.


we're lacking a tube and night buses, but it's a city with trains, buses, trams....


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## Hellsbells (Jun 12, 2008)

I'd imagine there are plenty of jobs in a big city like B'ham. And a place like Erdington seems to be fairly close to the centre. 

Also, at the moment I live almost 10 miles away from my work in London, and I'm quite happy to cycle in every day to save on transport costs. I wouldn't mind doing the same in B'ham if necessary.


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## dirtyfruit (Jun 12, 2008)

baldrick said:


> what are you on about? public transport in brum is pretty good.
> 
> 
> we're lacking a tube and night buses, but it's a city with trains, buses, trams....



It all depends where you live and where you work. I used to have a hellish commute: 1hr45 to go 12 miles on public transport. I guess I was unlucky. The road network has been totally geared towards the car.

I'd suggest living as centrally as possible because then even if you end up working outside the centre you get much less congestion. I guess house prices are higher closer to train stations etc. If you have to use the bus to commute taking more than one bus will seriously add to your journey time from what I remember.


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## dirtyfruit (Jun 12, 2008)

Hellsbells said:


> I'd imagine there are plenty of jobs in a big city like B'ham. And a place like Erdington seems to be fairly close to the centre.
> 
> Also, at the moment I live almost 10 miles away from my work in London, and I'm quite happy to cycle in every day to save on transport costs. I wouldn't mind doing the same in B'ham if necessary.



I was going to suggest the good old bike. I found that Brum traffic works very differently to London traffic. If you're lucky to avoid any big hills the main trouble is that most large roads are dual carriageway. Most have cycle paths along side but I've always found these too slow. I guess there will be quieter cycle routes away from the big roads. The canal network is extensive. If you're used to a 10 mile burn in London then Erdington should be a lot closer. About 5 from what I remember. I used to live in Washwood Heath which is just south of Erdington.


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## aqua (Jun 12, 2008)

Hellsbells said:


> I'd imagine there are plenty of jobs in a big city like B'ham. And a place like Erdington seems to be fairly close to the centre.
> 
> Also, at the moment I live almost 10 miles away from my work in London, and I'm quite happy to cycle in every day to save on transport costs. I wouldn't mind doing the same in B'ham if necessary.


we live in erdington and it's great

on the cross city line and the 11 bus so getting anywhere in the city is fucking simple


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## baldrick (Jun 12, 2008)

dirtyfruit said:


> If you have to use the bus to commute taking more than one bus will seriously add to your journey time from what I remember.


That I definitely agree with.

HB - you were saying university admin weren't you?  So there's Aston uni, which is pretty much in the centre, although buses from the North of the city would be most convenient.  There isn't a train station close by, nearest is New St which is prob 15/20 minute walk.  Birmingham City uni - one campus in Perry Barr, one in the city near Aston Uni, a music college near the Central Library and then Birmingham Uni which is in Edgbaston, in the south of Birmingham which has a train station all of its own.

you probably knew all that, but just in case.


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## g force (Jun 12, 2008)

Kings Heath FTW! 50 Bus into the centre for Aston, or the 18 to Selly Oak Triangle for Brum Uni. OR live in Selly Oak and get the 61/2/3 into town.


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## ymu (Jun 12, 2008)

Yes - the canals can get you most places. If you don't mind cycling distances, pick up somewhere on the canal outside the city - or get a houseboat. The canal takes you right into the centre. 







Birmingham University is right on the canal, as is the University of Central England (Perry Barr) - and Aston, by the looks of it - if you'd be looking for a job at a uni


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## baldrick (Jun 12, 2008)

But Selly Oak is well expensive, isn't it?

never knew the 50 went to Aston.  live and learn


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## aqua (Jun 12, 2008)

In terms of uni's you also have, within commutable distance: Wolverhampton, Warwick, Coventry and Worcester (although the last is about 45mins on the train)


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## baldrick (Jun 12, 2008)

dirtyfruit said:


> I was going to suggest the good old bike. I found that Brum traffic works very differently to London traffic. If you're lucky to avoid any big hills the main trouble is that most large roads are dual carriageway.


yup.

i know people commute by bike into town from erdington, but there's a fucking scary roundabout at spaghetti junction which even my bf won't use.  he gets off and uses the subway instead.

apart from that, it looks ok as a commute, maybe 7/8 miles?


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## MooChild (Jun 12, 2008)

I live in Oldbury, i think my house is worth about 90-100k, 3 bedrooms, double glazed, central heating, right next to the M5 junction 3 (well, about 1 mile away).


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## Belushi (Jun 12, 2008)

Hellsbells said:


> I'd imagine there are plenty of jobs in a big city like B'ham. And a place like Erdington seems to be fairly close to the centre.



Erdington is high up my list if I decide to move out of London in the future.


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## Blagsta (Jun 12, 2008)

We're looking to buy in Stirchley next year.


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## DaRealSpoon (Jun 12, 2008)

i work on the brum canals so if you want a heads up on where is ok gimme a shout, good moorin and the like. Also do wolverhampton at weekends and i have to say i really like it as a city (if its actually classed as one) not too far from brum either. I work perry barr aswell and its ok but a bit hit and miss.

definately agree with some other posters on areas. Erdington is good, also dont think anyones mentioned kingstanding. Its nay too bad and pretty cheap i think.

Kings heath, balsall heath an moseley are nice on't other side o' town... i mean if you like curry then the ladypool road kicks ass. I'd say better than the curry mile.


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## blossie33 (Jun 27, 2008)

I am a bit out of touch with Brum as I've been in London for ten years but the prices of property seem so cheap compared to here!

I know the north side of the city best, my family live in Handsworth Wood which is pleasant but probably not anything for £90k there. Some parts of Handsworth are ok.
As a child I lived in Perry Barr (the Great Barr end) which is fine but 'old' Perry Barr (the Newtown/ Lozells end) is not so nice now I understand.
Erdington is ok, I went to school in that area.

I've a friend in Northfield, pleasant there but further out from the city centre.
Harborne, Edgbaston and Moseley were areas where more seemed to be going on for younger people but they may be quite expensive now. 
I definitely wouldn't want to be buying in somewhere like Castle Vale or Chelmsley Wood or that side of Brum, they are full of boring, soul less 1960's estates where all the roads look the same and are quite a distance from the city centre.

There seem to be quite a few new build flats near the city centre (e.g the Jewelery Quarter) that I think I might consider looking into if I was moving back there.


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