London – Why It’s Still The Destination of Choice For International Property Buyers

Much has been made of the London property market of late. From its heady heights of 2014/2015 whereby values were accelerating as fast as the owners’ cars in their heated garages - to more recently and a correction in those values.

The UK capital will always be attractive to overseas buyers because of its kudos and its status. Prime London in particular is a ‘must have’ if you’re a discerning millionaire or billionaire that wants not only to have property base in key cities for commerce but especially wants to highlight their success and buying power. Owning in Prime and Super Prime London is reassuringly expensive.

Importantly though, wealthy home-buyers didn’t get wealthy without being shrewd and therefore cost, value and future appreciation are of course factors in one’s purchase decision.

And that’s where London truly wins over and over again. Yes, Brexit has provided a hint of uncertainty of late and prices have softened. Yet one way or the other Britain will leave the EU and must do in order to fulfil its democratic promise to 17.4million referendum voters. So what we are seeing currently in amongst the Punch and Judy shenanigans within the Westminster bubble is a temporary storm that will blow over once Brexit is exercised during 2019 one way or the other. In fact, those buyers and sellers currently waiting out the political pantomime will jump from their respective fences once the UK has gently detached from its EU cousins, thus creating a ‘post-Brexit bounce’. If anything, Q3/Q4 2019 I the time to buy given that many Prime commentators believe that the lull in the London market has bottomed out.

Britain and its capital enjoy a robust political system (yes, really) and a stable currency, plus a fair and just legal system that stems from hundreds of years of challenge and testing but that, as a consequence, means that money and property are safe here. It remains as the financial capital of the world given its equidistant time-zone position between New York and Asia.

Then there’s the culture. The majesty (literally) of the Royals and their palaces. The Queen’s bodyguards, the Coldstream Guards, rehearsing through the city’s streets for all to admire. Harrods, which may no longer be in British ownership but is still a flagship of Blighty’s retail prowess – the green goddess of department stores. The Royal Parks. The Thames. Mayfair’s restaurants and bars. International celebrities. The Palace of Westminster. Red buses. Fortnum and Mason. The Savoy, The Ritz and their contemporaries and their sharp suited and even sharper witted doormen. Oxford and Regent Street… The list of what makes London London goes on.

In financial terms, the capital city still remains ahead of the rest of the UK in house price appreciation with an 86% hike in value since 2008 versus a more pedestrian rate of growth of 49.5% across the UK as a whole.

So whether it’s an investment proposition; the comfort of knowing that London is one of the (if not the) safest countries to harbour your cash; its fashion-ability and kudos or just the shopping at New Bond Street – London still reigns supreme for international property buyers.