US buyers surge to second place in London’s international buyer rankings, spending an average of £7.3m ($9.3m) in 2019 according to Knight Frank.
Analysis of purchaser data going back a decade in the prime central London residential market confirms that on average US buyers comprised the fifth largest source of international demand.
Their market share declined to a low of seventh place in 2014. However, more recently a combination of rising global investment interest from high-net-worth US buyers and the weak pound following the Brexit vote have propelled US buyers up the rankings – hitting fourth place in 2018 and second place in 2019 to date, behind Chinese buyers.
As their share of the prime London market has surged, so too has their spending power, from an average £5m ($6.3m) spend over the past decade to £7.3m ($9.3m) in 2019 so far – making the US buyer the fifth highest major spender behind Russians (£9.1m), Germans (£9.6m), Turkish (£10.8m) and those from Saudi Arabia (£13.4m).
Liam Bailey, global head of research at Knight Frank said: “US buyers have been long-term players in the prime London residential market. While the weak pound has undoubtedly aided the recent surge in demand from dollar-based purchasers – the real driver has been the strength of the London economy over the past two years.
“Not only has Brexit failed to have any impact, but over this period London has taken the dominant share of US corporate investment in Europe – leading to a significant uptick in demand for prime property from relocating US employees, entrepreneurs and business owners – especially from the tech sector.”
Neighbourhoods in demand by US buyers are led by:
1 Marylebone (south of Regent’s Park)
2 Mayfair
3 Chelsea
4 Islington
5 Belgravia
CIT, the developers behind Regent’s Crescent, London’s only Grade 1 listed new build overlooking Regent’s Park, are witnessing first-hand the uptick in demand from US buyers.
Head of Sales at CIT, Chris Richmond commented, “Regent’s Crescent is a remarkable scheme that we are proud to be working on. Its unique combination of enchanting and historical importance, outstanding original design, unsurpassed new build quality and remarkable location make it a very rare and special offering for the capital.
“We have experienced high levels of interest from the North American market. Buyers are attracted to the building’s traditional Regency grandeur, proximity to Regent’s Park and its unique listed new build offering – as a result, circa 30% of the units sold to date have gone to American buyers.”
US buyers’ market share of Prime Central London sales: –
- 2010 2.9%
- 2011 2.5%
- 2012 2.5%
- 2013 2.9%
- 2014 2.3%
- 2015 2.8%
- 2016 3.8%
- 2017 2.8%
- 2018 3.3%
- 2019 6.0%
Largest foreign buyers in Prime Central London in 2019: –
- China 9.4%
- United States 6.0%
- India 4.7%
- Russia 4.0%
- Hong Kong 4.0%
- UAE 3.4%
- Italy 2.7%
- Saudi Arabia 2.0%
- Singapore 1.3%
- Germany 1.3%
