Emiratis and Saudis are among the biggest foreign investors in prime real estate in central London so far in 2019, according to new data released by Knight Frank.
Investors from the Gulf countries were ranked sixth and eighth respectively, behind the Chinese who were named top foreign buyers with 9.4 percent of sales.
According to Knight Frank, UAE investors were behind 3.4 percent of London sales while Saudis were responsible for 2 percent.
US buyers surged to second place in London’s international buyer rankings, due to a combination of rising global investment interest from high-net-worth US buyers and the weak pound following the Brexit vote, the report said.
Buyers from Saudi Arabia are said to spend on average the most on a property in London (£13.4 million), ahead of Turkish investors (£10.8 million), Germans (£9.6 million) and Russians (£9.1 million).
Neighbourhoods in demand for foreign investors include Marylebone (south of Regent’s Park), Mayfair, Chelsea, Islington and Belgravia.
Liam Bailey, global head of research at Knight Frank said: “While the weak pound has undoubtedly aided the recent surge in demand from dollar based purchasers – the real driver has been the strength of the London economy over the past two years.”
The report also named Indians (4.7 percent), Hong Kong (4 percent), Italians (2.7 percent), Singapore (1.3 percent) and Germans (1.3 percent) among the biggest foreign investors.
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