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Britain ‘a target for foreign investors’ - 9 February 2009

As the swings and roundabouts of the property market continue to turn, a new consequence of the falling value of Sterling and dropping property prices is being seen in the high-end real estate sector.

For the first time in many years, Europeans and Americans are coming to London to snap up prime properties which have become bargains for them in the current climate. Mayfair, Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Chelsea are all seeing an influx of foreign buyers. This is something we predicted in our Tips for the UK Property Market in 2009.

Not only are these properties proving to be bargains for the overseas buyers coming to the UK, the allure of owning bricks and mortar in the centre of one of the most forward-thinking and desirable cities in the world is proving to be something of a safe haven for investors nervous about almost any other kind of investment.

Prices in London’s most expensive areas have fallen by around 20 per cent from their peak in March 2008, but with this new impetus prime property could bounce back quicker than was to be expected in the current economic climate.

Luxury residential agent Knight Franks says it has registered increased interest from overseas in recent months. The market seems to be led by buyers from the Middle East followed by the Europeans, with particular rises in enquiries from Italians, French and Norwegians.

While the influx of foreign buyers seems like the perfect tonic for the ailing housing market, it is not the answer most residents want to see. Although sellers may finally be able to realize a decent profit from property that may have been struck on the market for some months, no-one likes to be beaten to the best deals by outsiders.

Londoners in particular will feel that they are being priced out of the market by overseas buyers with something of an unfair advantage – namely, that their money now goes much further in the UK than it did six months ago.

And according to reports from agents across the country, it appears that the phenomenon is not limited to London. Interest from foreign buyers is said to be on the increase in the Home Counties, the Cotswolds and even in Devon and Cornwall.

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