| Grain of salt alert: we must keep in mind that MSM is functionally innumerate and their understanding and analysis of statistics is often appallingly bad. But as this article comes from the Financial Times, the numbers *might* be reliable. |
In New York, foreign owners make up 34 per cent of sales in the prime residential market, ahead of Paris, where they account for 27 per cent. In Hong Kong and Sydney, foreigners account for even fewer prime residential deals, at 13 per cent and 9 per cent respectively.
The data help explain how London prices have soared in the last year while the rest of the UK market has stagnated as a result of affordability issues and interest rate fears. Prices of the most expensive homes in Kensington and Chelsea have risen more than 20 per cent since the New Year. London was so popular because of its financial strength and its good transport connections to the US, Europe and the Middle East, said Liam Bailey, head of residential research at Knight Frank.
The change in ownership of central London streets has happened gradually. In the 1960s, British buyers still made 90 per cent of purchases, falling to 70 per cent in the 1970s, 60 per cent in the 1980s and 1990s and less than half today. "People just want to be in London," said Amanda Craig, director of London houses at Hamptons, the estate agents. "In Germany there are several major cities, you might want to buy in Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, it's the same in Italy, but in the UK it's either central London or a country estate. Our clients aren't interested in Manchester or wherever."