Property News · August 4, 2016

Weak pound creates bargain London property deals for Gulf buyers


Arabian Gulf property investors have begun bargain hunting among London’s most exclusive addresses as prices tumble.House prices in some of the parts of London most popular with GCC investors have suffered their biggest annual falls in nearly seven years.Average prices in the London district of Knightsbridge fell 7.3 per cent in the year to the end of last month, according to Knight Frank. That is the biggest annual decline in almost seven years – prompted by Brexit uncertainty and tax hikes.”We are seeing a lot of interest from GCC buyers looking to buy in prime central London this summer,” said Tom Bill, the head of London residential research at Knight Frank. “At the moment we are seeing that there is a currency play, which makes prime central London property a particularly attractive opportunity for them right now. Many are also asking for double-digit discounts on top of the currency discount,” he added.Prices in Chelsea were down 7.2 per cent, South Kensington prices fell 5.7 per cent and Mayfair prices were down 0.8 per cent.Knight Frank said that average house prices in prime central London fell by an average of 1.5 per cent in the year to the end of last month.Brokers operating in the most prime parts of the city reported a rush of interest from overseas investors in the weeks following Britain’s shock referendum result on June 23, in which the value of the pound plummeted by 10 to 15 per cent against the US dollar.Savills, Chestertons, Harrods Estates, Douglas & Gordon and Cluttons have all reported an increase in interest Middle East investors in the weeks following Brexit.Knight Frank reported that prime central London rents fell 3.6 per cent in the year to the end of last month as some sellers opted to rent their homes out instead of selling them because of the increased uncertainty surrounding the EU referendum result.”Landlords are taking an increasingly pragmatic approach to asking rents against the background of wider Brexit uncertainty and rising stock levels,” said Knight Frank’s Mr Bill.lbarnard@thenational.aeFollow The National’s Business section on Twitter

Source : thenational.ae
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