Brighton is a seaside resort on the south coast of England that is part of the City of Brighton and Hove, located 47 miles south of London.
In the Georgian era, Brighton developed as a fashionable seaside resort, encouraged by the patronage of the Prince Regent, later King George IV, who spent much time in the town and constructed the Royal Pavilion in the Regency era.
After the arrival of the railways in 1841 Brighton’s popularity dramatically grew as a destination for day-trippers from London.
The Victorian Era saw a number of attractions built including the Metropole Hotel, The Grand Hotel, The West Pier and the Brighton Palace Pier. In the 20th century the town grew enough to incorporate “Hove” which was a town in itself to the west of Brighton. Renaming itself Brighton and Hove.
Fast-forward to today and Brighton and Hove has a population of 288,000 and a wider conurbation of 474,000.
Brighton has grown into a diverse city well known for its cultural arts and music scenes, quirky shopping areas and a large LGBT population which led to its recognition as the unofficial gay capital of the UK.
Brighton attracted 7.5 million day visitors in 2015/16 and 4.9 million overnight visitors, and is the most popular seaside destination in the UK for overseas tourists.
The emergence of Brighton as a digital centre has led to Brighton and Hove’s digital economy recently being valued at over £1 billion per annum. Equal to tourism in its value.
Such is Brighton’s digital standing that it is now known as a digital cluster meaning it’s a focal point for the digital industry nationwide.
Now knows as a tech mecca, Brighton attracts both investment and talent into the area. The quirky lifestyle Brighton exudes makes it the perfect place for a new generation of IT Geeks.
The average value of a detached house in Brighton is £564,189, semi detached £407,348 and terraced £443,489.
Semi detached prices rose 16% in the last year with terraced rising 4%.
Overall, in Brighton & Hove this last year agents have not experienced the extreme increases in rent levels and house prices that we have become accustomed to and the market has cooled-off slightly.
With a small fall expected in 2018 the Brighton market actually showed its resilience with high levels of demand in terms of properties for sale and for rent.
This is Money recently published their guide to the Top 10 rental hotspots in the UK. Brighton came in at number 9, with the NET Rental Yield being achieved growing by over 1% in a year.
Brighton also featured prominently in The Telegraph’s “best commuter hotspots near London to invest in buy to let property.
Demand for Student Accommodation in Brighton is still very strong with both Universities investing heavily in new campuses and courses.
Both universities routinely struggle to offer all first years on campus accommodation with the remaining places being taken by various private landlords.
Student numbers have remained strong helped by the quality of both Uni’s with the University of Sussex ranking no.25 in the latest league tables.
Brighton was recently voted “the happiest city in the UK” by Students cementing its name as the place to study on the south coast!