Asian buyers rule London's new-homes market - The Economic Times

Asian buyers rule London's new-homes market - The Economic Times

LONDON: Asian buyers accounted for the majority of new home purchases in central London for the first time as they took advantage of the pound's weakness and avoided rising prices at home, Knight Frank LLP said.

The share of deals increased to 59 per cent in the six months through April from 48 per cent a year earlier, the London-based real-estate broker said in a report. Most of the Asian purchasers were based in Hong Kong or Singapore, where residential property prices have risen to records this year.

"The exchange rate is crucial," Sebastian Warner, a partner at the firm, said in a telephone interview. "On the other side of the coin, their markets are incredibly hot." Asian investors, deterred by inflated property prices and curbs on speculation at home, are targetting markets such as the UK, that may offer better returns. They acquired about 120 million pounds ($194 million) of London real estate in the past two months, with most purchases in the 400,000-pound to 1 million-pound range, Knight Frank estimates.