Given the huge demand for property in London, it is understandable that there is going to be a great deal of interest and debate on the subject of London property. There are many reasons why people want to stay in or as close to the centre of London as possible. For many people, London represents the best opportunity to find employment. As the heart of the country in so many ways, London is the place to find jobs and historically, this has always been the case.
Of course, this isn’t the only reason to stay close to London. London has something for everyone and people who enjoy their leisure time will find that being close to the huge array of attractions London has to offer makes sense. There are other people who are keen to live in London though. Investing in London property makes perfect sense and for super-rich people from around the world, London is becoming the most popular place to be.
Buying an up-market London property provides a person with a presence in one of the most happening and important cities in the world. There is also a lot to be said for buying property in Lon don as opposed to the country where they currently live, work and make their money. All of these different elements are combining to bring in a steady number of wealthy foreign investors and this is having a major impact on the London property market.
Given that there is already insufficient property in London for everyone wants to buy one, you would think that the answer would be to build new homes. There are new properties being built in London but the vast majority of new build projects in London are at the high end of the market. This is catering to the wealthy foreign investors who are keen to lead the high life in London. Building firms are making vast sums of money on each property sale but as there is no trickle-down effect through the market thanks to external buyers snapping up these properties, the lack of supply in the London property market is very damaging to a lot of people.
London properties are Lying Empty
Although an increasing number of people are aware of this state of affairs, it never hurts to hear a renowned professional highlight the crisis that could be brewing in the London property market. Frank Gehry, one of the most famous architects in the world recently unveiled his design plans to help redevelop the world famous Battersea Power Station in London. During his presentation, Gehry stated that he wanted to create buildings where people would actually stay and live in. This is because of the number of rich investors who are buying London properties but then not using them. The fact that there is a lack of supply in the London property market is annoying but the fact that many of the properties which are being bought are lying empty is very annoying for many people.
Figures put together by Knight Frank, one of the leading real estate consultancies in the around indicates that in a two year period building to June of 2013, just less than 70% of new-build property buyers in the prime central London market were not of British origin. They also found that close to half, 49% were not actually resident in the United Kingdom. This has led many to be concerned about these properties being bought for investment and not actually being used. While the development firms will be happy to sell properties to anyone that meets the asking price, there will be others in the community, and perhaps even other buyers, who will be disappointed with this.
Any local business owner who has been looking to capitalise on the buyers of new build blocks may find that there is a limited amount of passing traffic for their services. This can see these companies fall short on any projected profit margins, which may see them in financial difficulty. These businesses are not the concern of property developers but there is no doubt that foreign investors who buy property but don’t move into it will have an impact on the local businesses around their investment.
Andrew Reilly is a freelance writer with a focus on news stories and consumer interest articles. He has been writing professionally for 8 years but has been writing for as long as he can care to remember. When Andrew isn’t sat behind a laptop or researching a story, he will be found watching a gig or a game of football.
