LONDON: In a district in north-west London that is a favourite nesting ground for bankers from all over the world, a premium housing project suddenly found itself making distress sales after the recession. They sold one flat to an Indian.
Luxury-home prices in central London rocketed upwards at their fastest rate of increase for a year during May. The pound’s weakness on the international currency exchanges helped to encourage a large number of overseas buyers to compete for a declining number of properties for sale, according to agency Knight Frank LLP.
Luxury-home prices in central London rose at the fastest pace in a year in May as the pound’s weakness encouraged overseas buyers to compete for a declining number of properties for sale, Knight Frank LLP said.
LONDON — It’s not usually until summer is in full swing that wealthy Arabs descend upon London, but this year, along with the unusually warm weather, the rich have come early. As the Arab spring sweeps across the region, Middle Easterners seeking refuge for their cash are snapping up million-pound properties in the British capital.
Chinese individuals are growing in wealth and stature. With this rapid increase there is a growing need for them to diversify their wealth. Lower rents and property values in the UK has made London an increasingly interesting prospect.
Arab businessmen, some connected with Middle Eastern regimes toppled by popular uprisings in January and last month, are buying London “boltholes”.
London estate agents Kay & Co has sold two homes to Middle Eastern businessmen since a popular revolt in Tunisia triggered anti-government uprisings across the Middle East.
…has begun to cool, and prices have started to flatten out, the rental market continues to be extremely active, which is good news for buy-to-let landlords and investors. The rental market has significantly changed over the last two years.
International buyers account for a considerable proportion of those spending money in London on property, from Hampstead to Mayfair.
For centuries, London has been a magnet for incomers from all over the world. The 17th century brought Huguenots, Sephardic Jews and the Irish; the 18th saw influxes from the Americas; and the revolutions of the late 19th century brought refugees from across Europe.
Home values plummet throughout the country as mortgages dry up, with only London’s high-end real estate escaping the trend
A mortgage lending squeeze will result in property prices falling across Britain, but London’s most desirable residential districts will be least affected, analysts say.
Scope for capital appreciation and popularity among overseas investors drive demand for units in UK capital’s posh neighbourhoods.
Even the world’s top property markets have their ups and downs. Despite central London’s reputation as one of the safest property markets around, the wealthy residents and property owners of Mayfair and Knightsbridge in July experienced a phenomenon the rest of the world knows only too well: negative equity.
The London property market has long attracted buyers from around the world. If we take a look back to when the market last crashed in the 1990’s, the crash was much more drawn out than the price falls we have witnessed this time around.
Louise Beale interviews Camilla Dell for Bloomberg News, reporting on the use of buying agents to secure homes in the central London residential property market, where demand outstrips supply.
