Head to Birmingham's suburbs for a good deal

One place many keen self-builders and home seekers are looking is Birmingham although experts warn that the suburbs are better for affordable homes than the city centre.

The centre is saturated and "grossly overpriced" according to Chris Williams from Robert Powell & Co. estate agents in Birmingham.

She said one of the most promising places to look for land or property is Edgbaston which is a suburb with good schools and shops but still plenty of open, green spaces.

"Edgbaston is the greenest suburb in Europe, it is like the Grosvenor estate in London. Everyone who can afford to aspires to live in Edgbaston because it's very leafy, the gardens are big and it is surrounded by private schools," said Ms Williams.

She said the city centre is not an advisable area to buy a house due to a lack of forethought on the developers' part.

"Every bit of land in the city centre has got a crane over it, flats are springing up like mushrooms. They're grossly overpriced for the size, some are the size of shoeboxes," she added.

The problem is that there aren't enough young professionals wanting urban, expensive properties because the city isn't actually that big and there is not a massive business centre.



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