» Foreign Buyers Pushing London Prices Higher

Average price exceeds £404k

Article Published: 5th February 2014

Next News Article: Stamp Duty dead zones

Previous News Article: House prices rise to record levels

News Article Index: News For February 2014

Conveyancing Services

Think tank Civitas has launched a report that highlights what it feels is a growing problem caused by a lack of restrictions placed on overseas investments in London properties. The problem is a distinct lack of properties in London available due to the ‘rampant house price inflation’ resulting in families and younger buyers being excluded from the market.

London house prices grew by more than 11 per cent in 2013, taking the average property price to just under £404,000.

An industry spokesman, Andrew Goodwin, a senior economic advisor said: ‘House prices across most of the country remain well below their pre-crisis peaks and there seems little danger of a bubble developing. But London, which is suffering from a combination of strong demand and a lack of supply, is increasingly giving us cause for concern.’

London properties are considered by many wealthy foreign investors to be a safe haven for the their cash, London property owners have seen their investments rise rapidly as prices there have more than doubled in the UK over the past 12 months.

Civitas’s findings made a good argument for the requirement of non-UK residents only being allowed to buy a property here if their investment also boosts the number of homes.

This system is employed elsewhere in the world and often requires foreign buyers to only be allowed to buy an existing home if it is an unoccupied new property and the can also satisfy the FIRB that the housing stock has increased.