203,000 homes owned by international homeowners
203,000 homes across England and Wales owned by international homeowners, with London accounting for 34%
The latest market analysis by Enness Global has revealed that almost 203,000 homes across England and Wales are owned by international homeowners, with London home to the highest proportion at 34%, while Hong Kong, Singapore, the USA, the UAE and China are the most prevalent overseas nationalities.
The figures from Enness Global* reveal the number of homes across England and Wales that are registered with an overseas correspondence address via the Land Registry, providing insight into the scale of international homeownership across the market and how it is distributed by nationality and region.
203,000 homes owned by international homebuyers
The research shows that 202,568 homes are registered across England and Wales with an overseas correspondence address, a figure that has remained largely unchanged when compared to the previous year, increasing by just 0.02%.
In terms of regional concentration, London is home to the highest number of internationally owned homes, accounting for 33.9% of the England and Wales total. The South East follows at 17.2%, while the North West ranks third with 15.9% of all internationally owned homes.
Most prominent nationality of international homebuyers – England and Wales
Hong Kong buyers are the most prominent, accounting for 13.8% of all internationally owned homes in England and Wales.
Other nations to rank within the top five where the highest proportion of internationally owned homes is concerned include Singapore (7.9%), the United States of America (6.8%), the United Arab Emirates (5.9%) and China (5.8%), whilst Malaysia, Ireland, Australia, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia completed the top 10.
As well as accounting for the largest proportion of internationally owned homes in England and Wales, Hong Kong buyers are also the most prominent nationality across London, the North West, the West Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber.
Malaysia is the leading nationality across both the East Midlands and the East of England, while Ireland is the most prominent in the North East. In the South East, Kuwaiti nationals account for the largest share of internationally owned homes, while the United States of America ranks top across both the South West and Wales.
Most prominent nationality of international homebuyers – London
As previously mentioned, Hong Kong nationals accounted for the largest proportion of internationally owned homes within the capital, accounting for 18.7% of the 68,729 London homes with an overseas correspondence address logged with the Land Registry.
Homeowners from Singapore again ranked second accounting for 12.9%, and the rest of the top five also matches that of the wider national picture, however, Chinese homebuyers climb to third (11.9%) from fifth, followed by those from the USA (5.9%) and the UAE (5.3%).
Across London, the rest of the top 10 also remains the same as the wider national picture, with the exception of Italy replacing Kuwait.
At borough level, Tower Hamlets is home to the largest proportion of international homeowners, accounting for 11.8% of the London total, followed by Westminster (10.5%), Wandsworth (6.6%), Kensington and Chelsea (6.3%) and Hounslow (5.8%).
Hong Kong nationals are the most prominent international homeowners across all top five boroughs, with the exception of Hounslow (Singapore). In fact, Hong Kong nationals top the table in 21 of 33 London boroughs when including the City of London.
Islay Robinson, CEO of Enness Global, commented:
“International buyers continue to play an important role in the housing market, particularly across London and the wider South East where demand from overseas homeowners has long been a key feature of market activity.
What’s particularly notable is how stable the overall level of international ownership has remained, with the total number of homes registered to overseas addresses changing very little over the past year. This suggests that, despite a challenging economic backdrop and ongoing political and tax uncertainty, the UK remains a desirable place to own property for many global buyers.
London remains the clear focal point, accounting for over a third of all internationally owned homes across England and Wales, but the data also highlights that overseas ownership is far from isolated to the capital. Regional hotspots such as the South East and North West continue to attract substantial international interest, underlining the UK’s broad appeal as a long-term property destination.”
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