Real estate agency Benham & Reeves' study estimates that foreign-owned homes in England and Wales are worth £78.8 billion (€90.5 billion). Hong Kong nationals have the largest residential wealth (£10.8 billion), followed by Singaporeans (£7.2 billion) and US nationals (£5.1 billion). Other Middle Eastern nationalities, as well as Chinese, Irish and Australians, appear on the list.
Hong Kong-based homeowners hold the most valuable residential portfolio in England and Wales, with an estimated value of £10.8 billion (€13.5 billion) for the 25,000 or so units compiled in the report by London-based estate agents Benham & Reeves.
"Foreign-owned homes are worth a staggering £78.8 billion. Hong Kong owners account for the largest market share," says Marc von Grundherr, director of Benham & Reeves. "This stands to reason as we’ve seen a huge appetite from Hong Kong buyers in recent years, driven by the British National Overseas Visa, which allows them to live, work and study within the UK.".
After Hong Kong, Singaporeans have the highest property valuation, at £7.2 billion, or €8.36 billion, with 15,725 homes owned in England.
In third place are the Americans, with an estimated value of £5.1 billion (almost €5.2 billion). Close behind are investors from the United Arab Emirates and China, with £4.6 billion and £4.2 billion, respectively (between €4.8 billion and €5.34 billion).
"Of course, while this diverse range of overseas nationals forms an important part of our domestic property market, it’s important to note that they remain a drop in the ocean of total market activity and value, which really puts the might of the UK property market into perspective," the expert said.
Rounding off the top 10 of the leading foreign homeowners in England are Malaysian nationals with £4.6 billion (€4.643 billion), followed by Kuwaitis with £3.6 billion (or almost €4.18 billion), Irish with £3.3 billion (€3.83 billion), and Australian and Saudi Arabian homeowners, both with £3.1 billion (almost €3.6 billion).
Benham and Reeves submitted a Freedom of Information request to the Land Registry to ascertain the number of properties across each area of England and Wales with the title registered to an overseas correspondence address before looking at the estimated total value of these homes based on the nationality of ownership and the average house price in each local authority district.
Article seen in (Property Wire)