Foreign homeowners possess £90.7bn worth of property in England and Wales

The total market value of property possessed by homeowners living abroad comes to £90.7bn according to data from London lettings and estate agent Benham and Reeves.

The estate agent analysed the latest figures for homes owned by individuals with a foreign correspondence address, along with the current market value of these homes in each respective nation.

Buyers based overseas were found to own 250,000 homes in England and Wales, with homes in London found to be the highest value of foreign owned homes, making up £45.3bn of total value.

Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, commented: ‘It’s not just domestic homeowners who have benefited from some extreme rates of house price appreciation in recent years and despite attempts to deter foreign interest, the value of homes owned by overseas buyers remains considerable, to say the least.

‘While London is home to the highest concentration of foreign owned property market wealth, it’s certainly not confined to the boundaries of the capital alone, and overseas buyers remain an important segment of the market across England and Wales.’

There are concerns foreign buyers are driving up house prices across the UK, with average house prices reaching £278,000 this March, £24,000 higher than the previous year.

15 of the most popular areas for overseas buyers are based in the capital, with the value of foreign owned homes in Westminster coming out on top.
The total value of foreign owned homes there reaches £11.8bn, while Kensington and Chelsea comes second place with a total value of £10.7bn.

Market values in these areas completely eclipse other popular areas, with Tower Hamlets ranking third with foreign homeowners possessing £3.7bn worth of property in the area.

Outside of London, Buckinghamshire was discovered to have the highest value of foreign owned homes at £31.1bn, followed by Tandridge with £1.6bn, Liverpool with £1.4bn, Salford with £1.1bn and Manchester with £1.1bn.

Photo by Anthony DELANOIX