Chinese buyers are diving into One Tower Bridge at £1,800 per sqft
According to a recently released report on London residential real estate, wealthy Chinese are helping to lead an Asian surge into UK property.
The report, which was released on January 16th by real estate consultancy Knight Frank, found that 50 percent of new central London homes sold in 2012 were bought by buyers from China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and India.
And local Shanghainese or Beijingers who may be feeling priced out of their home markets, are likely to find sympathy among the Brits, as only 27 percent of new homes in central London were sold to citizens of the UK.
Evidently rising prices in London have not cooled enthusiasm among Asian buyers either. Customers from the Far East spent an average of $1.1 million on their new properties – a 14 percent hike from the average paid in 2011.
Speaking about the report to the media, Knight Frank’s Neil Batty said, “The higher price is partly due to the overall buoyancy of the market, but the products we’re selling to Asians are definitely more high-end than two or three years ago.”
To illustrate the willingness of Asian buyers to pay premium rates in the current market, Mr Batty pointed out that a few years ago £1,000 per square foot was a considerable deterrent to many buyers. However, now some high end projects are selling for more than £1,800 per square foot.
Among foreign buyers of central London properties, Singaporeans placed first, buying 23 percent of the homes sold, Hong Kong residents were second with 16 percent, and Chinese buyers came in third with a 5 percent share of the market.
Leave a Reply