The typical buyers of London’s best addresses are now more likely to be foreign, indicating how international the UK capital has become.
Just above half the homes costing more than £2m sold in the past year went to buyers from Russia, the Middle East and elsewhere overseas, figures from Knight Frank show, suggesting London is the world’s most cosmopolitan city in terms of property ownership.
The data help explain how London prices have soared in the past year while the rest of the UK has stagnated.
In the 1960s British buyers made 90% of purchases in London streets.
References: Financial Times 26/08/06 page 1, The Times 26/08/06 page 48, The Guardian 26/08/06 page 22, The Independent 26/08/06 page 47
