New report shows Milton Keynes as England’s No 1 city for residential investment

Milton Keynes has topped a list of cities in England for attracting residential investment, coming third overall after Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The list has been compiled by commercial real estate firm Colliers in its latest edition of Top UK Residential Inve stment Cities report.

The findings mark a significant growth for Milton Keynes – having ranked tenth in the list in 2021.

The biannual report analyses 20 locations against 24 indicators, such as population growth, EPC rankings and leisure facilities.

Milton Keynes’ new position as the top English city is a result of improved performance in several factors, including strong economic and low unemployment forecasts, high earnings potential, and its strategic location within the Oxford-Cambridge arch.

The city boasts the second-highest share of licensed plug-in vehicles and the highest number of charging devices per capita among the cities analysed. Additionally, it ranks second for lowest CO2 emissions and is the second-best city for recycling. Milton Keynes also excels in energy efficiency, with 58% of its dwellings achieving an EPC rating of C or better - well above the report average of 47%.

Andrew White, head of UK Residential & International Properties Asia at Colliers, said: “The city's success reflects its clear vision, commitment to sustainability and evolving technology landscape, as evidenced by its status as home to the world's largest fleet of autonomous delivery robots. Scores that brought it up from fifth in our last report to third this time are its improvements in business starts-ups and life satisfaction scores.

“Build to sell in the suburbs, as well as build to rent markets are showing strong signs of growth which makes it attractive for both domestic and international buyers, as well as institutional developers looking to expand the rental offering in the area.”

Oliver Kolodseike, from Colliers’ Research & Economics department, added: “The city’s stellar economic prospects play a pivotal role with an expected average unemployment rate of just 2.0% between 2023 and 2027, well below the 20-city average of 4.2%. Additionally, GDP growth is set to be stronger than in Birmingham, Cambridge, Edinburgh, and Oxford. However, factors holding back MK include small population, income inequality, and whilst it benefits from close proximity to Oxford and Cambridge, it doesn’t have a university and benefits of a student economy.”