Almost half buyers in central London now from abroad

Strutt & Parker says 44 per cent of buyers of prime central London properties in 2013 were from overseas - one of the first times a specific figure has been put on the much-criticised international pattern of purchasing in the capital.

Three quarters of those overseas purchasers came from Asia, Europe and the Middle East, indirectly showing how relatively few Americans and British ex-pats (once major players in London) now buy in the capital's prime locations.

About 67 per cent of all foreign purchases were in cash.

Using its own and Lonres.com data, the firm says there was a 4.5 per cent rise in the number of prime central London transactions below £2m (to a total of 2,837 in 2013) but a large 25.7 per cent leap in the number of homes purchased from £2m to £5m (to 733) and a 7.5 per cent increase in transactions priced over £5m (to 257).

Unhelpfully, high-end estate agents who cite prime central London' have slightly different boundaries, usually coinciding with their highest sales volumes, making meaningful comparisons difficult.

For Strutt & Parker, PCL is defined as Knightsbridge, Belgravia, Kensington, Chelsea, Notting Hill and Fulham.