British Property Appeals to the Foriegn Investor

Never has British property looked more appealing - for foreign buyers. They are jetting in from Switzerland to Singapore to pick up a bargain. And celebrities including actor Nicole Kidman and rapper P. Diddy are looking to capitalise on falling prices.

The weak pound is a temptation to U.S. and European investors, who are making the most of exchange rates and snaring properties for 50 per cent less than a year ago, according to Hamptons International.

‘It’s tax-efficient for wealthy Europeans or Americans to base themselves in Britain, but the stumbling block has always been the exorbitant cost of housing,’ says buying agent Robert Bailey.

Now we’re seeing a period of frenetic activity, particularly for family houses in Notting Hill and Chelsea.’

So what is most tempting to overseas buyers?

Italians are fond of Clerkenwell, near the City, where Hurford Salvi Carr reports that 100 per cent of sales this month were to international buyers - 25 per cent of them Europeans.


‘The area has a long-standing affinity with Italian buyers due to its history and the style of apartments and buildings. The Americans love it for the same reasons,’ says the agency’s director Paul Driscoll, who is selling flats in Bowling Green Lane from £550,000.

With a prime riverfront spot near St Paul’s Cathedral and opposite Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and the Tate Modern, Sir John Lyon House - a new development of 68 apartments costing from £350,000 to £4.75million - has sold overwhelmingly to foreign buyers.

‘Of the 58 sales so far, 50 have been to non-Britons - mainly Irish, Germans and Italians,’ says Amir Zabarfi from the developer, Riverview Holdings Limited.

‘It’s an excellent location for those who love London’s history and culture.’

Singaporeans are buying in London and prestigious university cities, as their currency has strengthened by 25 per cent against the pound in the past year.

‘They may never see the inside of the property and simply lease it out,’ says James Thomas, of Jones Lang LaSalle.

‘Some fall into the super-wealthy bracket and want a house in a top-tier destination such as Manchester or London.’

Security and low maintenance are top priorities for Singaporeans, so new-build apartments are preferable.

‘The price range is £250,000 to £1million, but one family has spent £100 million in central London,’ Thomas says.

Prime areas of Surrey, such as Cobham, Virginia Water and Esher, are popular among Americans, says Harriet Holden-White from The County Homesearch Company.

‘Americans tended to rent, but the pound has fallen so steeply against the dollar that there is greater interest in buying,’ she says.

Five-bedroom family homes on the Wentworth Estate in Virginia Water start at £1million through Barton Wyatt, rising to £7.25million for a Dutch gabled mansion
overlooking the golf course.

Other long-haul buyers are looking at the West Country, reports Savills, whose Bath office is seeing interest from the United Arab Emirates.

‘We have buyers from Barbados, the Cayman islands and Hong Kong putting in offers, even though they are not returning to Britain for three years,’ says Christopher Dewe from the Cirencester office.