Hong Kongers, The Largest Overseas Buyers in London Property Market

According to a report by Benham and Reeves, a London-based real estate agency, Hong Kongers are undoubtedly the largest group of overseas buyers in the London property market. Their proportion is the highest among the 17 municipalities in the city. The report statistically analyzes the total number of dwellings whose owners are resident in a foreign country, and breaks down the data by country and region. The results showed that in 17 London boroughs, Hong Kongers bought more homes than any other group of overseas buyers.

Among the 17 boroughs with the highest proportion of Hong Kong buyers, Barking and Dagenham stand out, with as much as 31 per cent of properties registered to foreign owners bought by Hong Kong buyers. Other boroughs include Tower Hamlets, Newham, Lewisham, Hackney and Greenwich, accounting for 26% and 24% respectively , 23%, 23% and 22%.

Marc von Grundherr, director of Benham and Reeves, said in the report, “Overseas buyers have had a significant impact on the UK property market, especially in London, where the travel restrictions caused by the pandemic have led to a drop in demand. You only need to If you look at the nationality diversity of the main buying groups in each borough, you can see the importance of these owners to the London property market, and Hong Kong buyers are indispensable.”

He added that many landlords were buy-to-let investors or were attracted by the British National (Overseas) passport. Individuals with this passport can live, work and study in the UK.

In addition to London, Hong Kongers also lead other foreign buyers in the number of homes purchased in Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Liverpool, accounting for 26%, 20%, 14% and 14% respectively, the data shows.

Buyers from Jersey, the largest island in the Channel Islands (between England and France), were the second largest overseas buyer, with properties in Hillingdon, Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea (Kensington and Chelsea) and Richmond (Richmond) topped the list with 14%, 13%, 10% and 10% respectively.

In Hounslow, 75 per cent of overseas buyers are from Singapore. In Sutton and Bromley, UAE owners contributed the largest share, with 22% and 17% respectively.

Von Grendel said that while international buyers faced obstacles during the pandemic, he predicted that demand would start to pick up as travel restrictions in the UK were lifted.

“We expect overseas buyer demand to pick up for the rest of the year, helping to boost the London property market, which has been struggling in recent months,” he said.

Originally published at https://www.tlw.com.