By Andrew Batt:
Singaporeans were the number one overseas buyers of new-build London property in 2012.
New research from Knight Frank revealed that buyers from the city-state accounted for 23 percent of all transactions in the sector, only marginally behind the 27 percent of purchases made by UK nationals.
Buyers from Hong Kong made up 16 percent of all new-build purchases, while those from China (five percent) and Malaysia (four percent) made up the top five nationalities.
Overseas buyers purchased new-build property in London worth some £2.2 billion (S$4.3 billion) during 2012, according to the Knight Frank analysis – up from £1.8 billion (S$3.5 billion) in 2011.
When ordered by total investment rather than number of transactions in 2012, Singapore and Hong Kong still top the charts, although Russia pips China to third place.
By average investment per property, Hong Kong investors tend to spend slightly more than those from Singapore or China. The typical purchase price for new-build property in prime central London among Asian buyers stands at around £680,000 (S$1.35 million). The average spend by Russian buyers tends to be the highest.
The report noted that some overseas buyers, especially those from Asia, are more comfortable with the idea of buying a property off-plan, as this practice more closely reflects the property market in their own countries.
“We expect the core Asian markets of Hong Kong and Singapore to remain strong, especially for the very best developments in the most desirable areas in London. But we forecast that some overseas markets may also rise in importance,” the report noted.
“Indonesia is tipped to become a stronger player in the investment market in the coming years. For example, the number of searches for prime London property from Indonesia on Knight Frank’s global property search jumped by 22% in 2012 compared to the previous year.”
Earlier this week, PropertyGuru reported how overseas property interest from Singaporeans will increase as a result of the implementation of last week’s additional cooling measures.
Andrew Batt, International Group Editor of PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email andrew@propertyguru.com.sg
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