Arab investors seem to have flocked to the UK to take advantage of the sterling’s steep drop in the value of the pound that has been going on for several months, as well as to capitalize on the slowdown in the country’s real estate market and falling prices, as purchases by Arab investors of real estate in central London recorded the highest level in year. 2015.
Figures released by real estate giant Knight Frank showed that Arab investor purchases of central London property recorded strong growth in the second half of 2022 and jumped to its highest level in years.
The company said that investors from the Middle East took advantage of the weakness of the pound and the easing of restrictions and rushed to the British capital to invest in the property market.
And buyers from the Middle East account for 11% of real estate deals in some of London’s most exclusive areas, putting them in second place just behind investors from Europe and UK locals.
Knight Frank reported that buyers from the Middle East last generated a higher percentage of sales in the region in 2015.
Tom Bell, Head of Residential Research at Knight Frank, said: “Compared to some parts of the world, buyers from the Middle East are freer to come to London and take advantage of the weaker pound sterling, resulting in discounts in excess of 40%. compared to 2014 when the combination between price and currency movement was added.
At the peak of the coronavirus epidemic in the first half of 2020, investors from the Middle East accounted for just 2.2% of total sales in central London as their countries – along with many around the world – introduced a series of strict social measures. restrictions to restrict the virus.
London, which has long attracted huge amounts of foreign investment and attracted the most capital flows of any world city in the first half of 2022, is experiencing a state of uncertainty this year, a report published by the US agency Bloomberg says. regarding the valuation of real estate with rising real estate prices interest rates.
Foreign dealers accounted for 57% of London property investment last year, up from 65% in 2015, according to data compiled by MSCI and published by Bloomberg.
“Wealthy families don’t see London as a temporary place, they look at it for the long term,” said Henry Fown, head of Knight Frank’s private office in the Middle East. still in peace and will come back as strong as ever.”
