US high rollers buy London homes expecting post-Brexit bounce

A leading London estate agency with US connections says there has been a surge in high net worth American buyers in the UK capital.

This is because London property is seen as such good value following the sharp drop in Sterling since the EU Referendum, and because some US buyers expect a bounce in values when Brexit finally happens.

Martin Bikhit - managing director of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Kay & Co, which operates in the Regents Park and Marylebone areas of central London - says: “The area has always been popular, attracting a wide range of buyer demographics but, most recently, we see a particular interest from US clients.”

He says 24 per cent of his buyers of homes over £10m are US based and are keen on the Regent’s Park area in particular. Previously the proportion of these high-end buyers from the US was in single figures. 

“I put this [increase] down to the fact that US buyers are now valued here compared to before and the ones that I have spoken with agree a bounce is on the cards post Brexit.”

Bight says that over the last 12 months there have been 33 sales in the Regent’s Park NW1 4 postcode sector at an average price of £1,677,701. 

Of these sales, 71 per cent were apartments, achieving an average sales price of £1,250,655. The total value of sales in the last 12 months was £75,827,400. The highest value recorded by the Land Registry over the past 12 months was £6.5m for a flat and £10m for a house.

Last year Kay & Co became the exclusive UK affiliate of Warren Buffett’s global real estate brokerage Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices.  

The company says it plans expansion in the prime central London market through acquisitions and joint ventures with best-in-class agencies, and the addition of up to 10 standalone offices over the next decade.