Gulf bargain-hunters miss out as Americans swoop on London’s luxury property market

Waiting for the market to reach bottom may mean losing out on the perfect home, warns expert

Black Brick’s Managing Director, Camilla Dell was delighted to share her insights from Black Brick’s ‘Value in Vogue’ report with The National, looking at key trends that defined the property market last year.

To learn more, read the article here.

Why Britain’s punitive tax system risks deterring Middle East property investors

Experts are reporting that the UK’s rising tax rates are only making our residential property market less attractive to any wealthy overseas buyers.

As a prime central London buying agent who deals with numerous Middle East investors, Black Brick’s Founder and Managing Partner, Camilla Dell shared her perspective on the matter in a new piece for The National this week.

“Whether you are buying property in New York, London, Hong Kong, Singapore or Sydney – there is significant tax and other additional costs, such as agency fees, to pay,” she said, adding that wealthy buyers should expect to pay high levels of tax when purchasing property in such a sought-after city like London.

How changes to Britain’s stamp duty scheme affect Middle East property investors

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has officially announced plans to launch a stamp duty holiday for UK property buyers, in a bid to boost the market.

However, all good things do have to come to an end, and after 31 March, the holiday will end and overseas buyers will have to pay an additional 2% surcharge on stamp duty.

“Basically you are paying an extra 5 per cent as an overseas buyer,” Black Brick’s Camilla Dell summarised in a new The National News article. “This is because they must pay the 3 per cent for buying a buy-to-let or second home as well as the additional 2 per cent.”

UAE residents can still access UK mortgages post-Brexit

In a new article this week by The National, it’s been revealed that UAE residents looking to buy property in the UK after the country exits the EU can continue to sign up for expatriate mortgages.

It comes after Santander announced it would bar applications from non-residents.

As a leading property buying agent for London, Black Brick’s Camilla Dell shared her perspective on the subject of Middle Eastern investors in UK property, featuring in the article as expecting more lenders to follow in Santander’s footsteps.

“There are still lots of options for expats and international buyers, particularly in the HNW (high net worth) space where Private Banks can take a more flexible approach,” Camilla added.

“The treatment of UAE or Middle East-based clients has not changed markedly for some time and Brexit should not affect this as these clients are clearly outside of the eurozone. EU nationals who recently moved to the UK or are primarily resident in their home countries will be the most affected by these rule changes.”