Asians have invested £761 million or over US$1 billion in newly constructed apartments in central London, up from about £250 million a year ago, said real estate firm Knight Frank.
Asian property investors are attracted by several positive factors – slow property prices in Britain, low interest rates and a weak British pound.
Aside from these factors, there is also a sense of familiarity with London. Majority of the top buyers came from former British-crowned colonies such as Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
Since late 2009, British developers including Ballymore Group, Berkeley Group and Barratt have been persuading wealthy Asians by hosting high-class exhibitions complete with agents and lawyers on hand.
Knight Frank said the percentage of Asian investors purchasing new apartments in central London has surged to 50 percent from around 30 percent a year ago.
Despite concerns that Britain could face a double-dip recession, Asian buyers still see London properties as a good deal given the sharp increase in housing prices in their home markets.
Investors also believe that Britain’s housing prices have room for growth following the global crisis.
“The last 12 months have been the strongest in selling London property to Asia in 15 years,” said Darien Bradshaw, regional director for international properties at Colliers, which has been marketing apartments in Asia through exhibitions.
To date, Colliers has sold about £200 million worth of British apartments in Asia to buyers in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. This figure surpasses the £150 million for the whole of 2009.