Young Professionals Flood Birmingham's Digbeth as Warehouses Convert, Trams Arrive

Property listings in Digbeth recorded 142 new tenancies signed by professionals aged 25 to 34 between January and June 2026, according to data compiled by local lettings firm Urban Homes.

The trend reflects Birmingham City Council’s continued push to expand the city centre eastward after the 2023 opening of the Curzon Street HS2 terminus site. Young workers priced out of Edgbaston and the Jewellery Quarter are choosing Digbeth for shorter commutes to the Mailbox and Colmore Business District.

Local anchors driving footfall

The Custard Factory on Gibb Street now hosts 18 small creative agencies and a co-working floor operated by The Bond, a shared workspace provider that opened its second Birmingham site here in March 2025. Evening footfall has risen sharply since the extension of the West Midlands Metro tram line reached Digbeth High Street in late 2024, cutting journey times to New Street station to eight minutes.

These venues sit within a compact triangle bounded by Floodgate Street, Heath Mill Lane and Fazeley Street, where former printworks and factories have been turned into 320 apartments since 2022.

Rightmove figures for May 2026 show the average asking price for a one-bedroom flat in the area at £268,000, up 14 percent from the same month in 2025. Two-bedroom warehouse conversions now list at £345,000 on average, with yields reported at 6.8 percent by Savills’ Birmingham residential team.

Next steps for buyers and renters

Anyone considering a move should contact the Digbeth Neighbourhood Forum, which publishes a monthly list of approved developments, and register with the council’s first-time buyer register before prices move further. Viewings at The Bond’s open evenings on the first Thursday of each month remain the quickest way to meet current residents and gauge the pace of change on the ground.