Since the end of the Second World War, the UK seems to have carved a niche for itself as a place of peace stability, and continuous economic growth. Little wonder people all over the world are coming in droves to find jobs, go to school, or just start over. I can go on and on about the reasons why there so many foreigners in the UK.
Recently however, I have begun to notice a slight change in the order of things. These supposedly “migrating hoard” do not just come to “kiss the Queen’s hands”, snap a few photos, and take the next British Airways flight back to their base, they come with loads of cash to spend.
The UK real estate market has proven to be very attractive to people of all colours and nationalities. I can confidently say that these set of people are gradually taking over and purchasing choice UK properties. Last time I checked, there is barely any country leader that does not have one or two of such properties in the UK.
From Thaksin Shinawatra of Thailand to the Saudi King; most African heads of state can be counted here too. The recent surge in the economic fortunes of Asia has also helped the UK properties market with more business men and women coming in with their cash.
A recent Super Prime London Survey I came across shows that the 10 nationalities most likely to grow their share of purchases in the central London market over the next 12 months were Russian, Chinese, Indian, United Arab Emirates, Middle East, Egyptian, Italian, Lebanese, Turkish and Brazilian.
In the top 15 of the list are also Uzbekistan, Australia, Nigeria, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Taiwan. This is a really good indicator showing political stability and a very strong real estate market in the UK. How long this would continue to be; only time can tell.