Government's 'levelling up' agenda to boost Wolverhampton house prices and rents

The city is one of an initial 20 city centres and towns that are to be regeneration areas.

Managing director of Barrows Forrester Property Group, James Forrester, said: “We’ve enjoyed a house price boom of late but for those with an eye on a longer-term return, the likes of Wolverhampton and Sheffield are a safe bet.

"Any significant level of regeneration is only going to help boost the local economy, which in turn will rejuvenate the local housing market. So we can expect to see upward growth both where house prices and rental market values are concerned across the areas to have been earmarked for ‘levelling up’.”

Barrows and Forrester has offices in Birmingham and Lichfield.

Under the levelling up agenda all homes in the private rented sector will have to meet a minimum standard - the Decent Homes Standard.

Chief executive of Octane Capital, Jonathan Samuels, said: “It goes without saying that anyone tackling the high cost of renting in the modern age should be provided with a home that is fit for purpose and so the introduction of the ‘Decent Home Standard’ is a positive step in this respect.

"The abolition of Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions’ is also another step forward where tenant protection is concerned. However, many landlords will be understandably concerned that this could be utilised by professional nightmare tenants as a loophole to avoid eviction, which often comes at a considerable cost to the landlord themselves.

"With this in mind, perhaps a tenant register should also be considered along with the proposed landlord register, so both tenant and landlord have peace of mind that their best interests are being looked after.”

Managing director of Sirius Property Finance, Nicholas Christofi, said: “It’s great to see the Government’s intent to support small and medium-sized enterprises by making them the focus of their levelling up plans and the agile and adaptable nature of these smaller housebuilders should pay dividends when it comes to improving the prosperity of our nation.

"That said, there’s no ‘new money’ in today’s loan announcement of £1.5 billion and so let’s hope that the Government continues to provide support to SME housebuilders on an ongoing basis, not just via a few initial, headline-grabbing gestures.”