• St Joseph announces it has sold 94% from its first release of 159 units
• Sales success has led to the firm fast tracking the second phase of its Birmingham Snow Hill Wharf development, bringing 133 more homes to market
• Increased demand follows research from Knight Frank revealing +3.4 upswing in property prices in Birmingham, compared to -0.1% in London

The firm behind one of Birmingham’s newest residential developments is set to fast track the release of an additional 133 homes to market, after selling 94% of its first round of apartments.

St Joseph, part of FTSE 100 property developer Berkeley Group, launched Snow Hill Wharf in August, releasing 159 one, two and three bed units from The Barker and The Lancaster – two of five buildings at its canal-side site.

With all available one-bed apartments and 90% of two-bed apartments sold in the first release, the results mark a successful entry into the Birmingham market for St Joseph. In response to the high demand, it has brought forward its UK market launch for the second phase to 24 November, with a weekend of launch events.

The latest apartments will be located in Snow Hill Wharf’s The Fazeley and The Colmore buildings – paying heritage to the development’s close proximity to the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal, as well as the iconic Colmore business district.

Richard Starkey, Managing Director at St Joseph, said:

“The sales success of Snow Hill Wharf’s first phase fundamentally underpins Birmingham City Council’s commitment that St Joseph developments create communities. It's about people, identity, amenity and atmosphere. We identified the strength in demand for high quality homes from the Birmingham market and leveraged this by bringing a new standard of residential development to the city.

“That being said, the exceptionally high demand for this quality waterside scheme exceeded our expectations – with the development’s community focused design and amenities offering a real point of difference in the market. Our team has been working to pull forward more homes for sale in response to buyer appetite for St Joseph and Berkeley Group’s quality offering.”

Located in the city’s Gun Quarter, an area mapped out for residential regeneration in Birmingham City Council’s Snow Hill Masterplan, Snow Hill Wharf will consist of a total of 404 apartments. It is estimated that the development will attract more than 700 residents, bringing in an additional £5 million annual expenditure to generate growth and prosperity the local economy in the process.

The sales performance of St Joseph’s development comes as little surprise, following figures compiled by Knight Frank ahead of its Birmingham Report, set for release on 29 November. The data reveals a +3.4% upswing in residential property prices over the last 12 months, compared to a 0.1% decline in the capital.

Mark Evans, Knight Frank’s Head of Regional Residential Development, commented:

“Birmingham continues to go from strength-to-strength. The city has established itself in recent years as a centre for technology and the digital sectors, leading the way in the country’s 5G network and ultrafast broadband role out. Inward investment into Birmingham’s infrastructure projects, such as HS2 and Midland Metro Extensions, have no doubt helped to drive the local economy and put the city on the map with international investors.

“As The University of Birmingham’s £600 million investment into its Edgbaston campus develops at speed, we anticipate that the city will continue to see growth in its domestic and international student numbers for years to come. These are just a handful of factors underpinning the strength of Birmingham’s housing market at present.”

Alongside residential space, Snow Hill Wharf will offer a double height reception lobby with 24-hour concierge, private cinema screening room, relaxing residents’ lounge, residents’ conference room and private garden conservatory meeting pods designed to create a welcome bridge between office and home. Residents will also be able to take advantage of a private sauna, steam room and gym including state of the art equipment, space for cardio, free weights and core training.

St Joseph is building on current momentum and has already announced the purchase of its second site in Birmingham - a £200 million mixed-use development called Eastside Locks.

Both The Fazeley and The Colmore will soon be available to purchase, starting from £198,000. Visit the Snow Hill Wharf website, to enquire here.