1. The City of Manchester sits at the heart of the Manchester City Region which has a population of 2.68m – the third largest region outside London.

2. Manchester is rated as a Beta world city, and as such is the UK’s only such city. Economically that puts it on a par with other important world cities such as Geneva, Stuttgart and Vancouver.

3. The city population is growing fast, creating more demand for property to buy and rent. Official forecasts suggest it will grow by another 80,000 inhabitants by 2027.

4. It’s a major business and commercial capital. Almost half of the north west’s ‘Top 500’ businesses are based in Manchester and the city region overall is home to over 2,000 foreign owned companies, many of which are very significant employers.

Manchester is also a major beneficiary of ‘northshoring’ – more companies are moving their operations here every year.

5. The city centre is a building site! A substantial number of major new commercial and residential schemes are underway or projected in the city centre – all bringing more investment, more jobs and more demand for housing.

6. Manchester is likely to be the ‘flagship city’ of the Government’s proposed Northern Powerhouse – a plan to link up the economies of the north and spur economic growth.

Manchester now has its own London-style executive mayor and more responsibility for its own finances.

7. Manchester Airport is the UK’s third busiest airport offering flights to all parts of European, the USA, Middle and Far East. The airport is being redeveloped and within the next few years and projections say that passenger numbers will double to 36m by 2030.

8. Manchester has excellent road links with motorways north, south, east and west linking it to the Midlands, Yorkshire, Liverpool and Scotland.

9. The city has extensive rail links and under the Northern Hub programme it will become the focus of rail services across the whole north of England. There will be more and faster services to Yorkshire, the north east and Merseyside starting this year.

It’s planned the city will have not one but two stations on the HS2 railway network, and there could be a dedicated high speed line to Yorkshire (HS3) in the future too.

10. There’s an extensive tram modern system, making commuting to key suburbs of the city quick and comfortable. Further expansion to the system is planned over the next few years.

11. It is one of the UK’s few genuinely 24 hour cities outside London. There’s already a very well established and vibrant city living scene.

12. There’s a huge student population. Manchester has around 110,000 students at several universities, all of which are heavily oversubscribed. It is increasingly popular as a place to study for foreign students, particularly well-resourced Chinese students.

13. Trafford Park claims to be Europe’s largest industrial estate and is home to 1,400 businesses employing 35,000 people.

14. Manchester Airport City Enterprise Zone is a major focus for industrial and commercial development. Planned developments include a MediPark for life sciences and pharmaceutical companies, a World Logistics Hub and Airport City, which itself has recently attracted £800m of Chinese investment. The airport itself already supports around 19,000 jobs and around 16,000 more are expected to be created by this development.

15. There’s a significant and growing housing shortage, so a buoyant rental market. Reports say that the number of people waiting for council houses in Greater Manchester has doubled since 1997, from around 50,000 to over 102,000.

16. Property prices are still some way behind the UK average, and a fraction of those in the south east. Prices for an investment property with good letting potential start from around £80,000.

If you’re interested in investing in Manchester City Centre, here’s another Property Insider report you will find useful: Where To Buy, Live Or Invest In Manchester City Centre