Foreign buyers are abandoning the prime London property market, figures compiled by Hamptons for the Financial Times indicate.
Asian buyers accounted for 6% of property purchases in areas such as Belgravia, Chelsea and Kensington in the first nine months of the year, down sharply from 26% in the year-earlier period. The share of purchases by Chinese buyers fell to 3% from 9%, while for Russian buyers the figures were 1% versus 7%.
The declines come amid turbulence in Asian equity markets which affected the strength of the local currencies. The rouble has also weakened sharply against sterling, amid sanctions and the fall in the price of oil. Stamp duty changes in the UK have also had an impact.
