Wealthy Overseas Buyers Swoop on UK’s Super-Prime Market

New figures suggest super-wealthy buyers from around the world are positioning themselves in preparation for UK travel restrictions to be lifted.

Knight Frank has reported a 109% annual leap in the number of new prospective purchasers registering above the £10m mark in the year to January.

That’s the highest such rise in more than ten years, said the agency, attributing the heightened demand to a combination of the successful vaccine roll-out – and the confidence boost provided by the decisive general election result back in December 2019.

At the same time, the number of viewings has tumbled by 36% due to the pandemic, the steepest such decline in a decade.

Overseas buyers have accounted for between two-thirds and three-quarters of super-prime sales in recent years, noted the firm.

2020 saw 93 deals above £10m in London, compared to 99 in 2019 (although the tally could still rise as more data comes in). The total spend in this range was £1.62 billion in 2020, down 12% from £1.85 billion in the previous year.

Super-prime prices held steady in 2020, according to the report, recording an average of £3,182 psf compared to £3,204 psf in 2019; following a well-documented trend, houses accounted for 63% of sales compared to 57% in 2019.

The firm flags up the rising pound, and the 2% stamp duty surcharge due in April, as key considerations for overseas buyers in the months ahead – although the flat performance of prices in PCL in recent months is expected to limit disruption from the latter.