A London agent has revealed that his firm is currently handling a single transaction involving 75 units worth over £40m.
Lee Pendleton, founder and director of James Pendleton which has nine offices in the south-west of the capital, said that demand from foreign investors and funds is “rampant”.
He says that they are “hoovering up” dozens of London homes at a time, as they sense the bottom of the market.
Property values in the capital have been falling since 2014, but Pendleton says that demand from foreign investors buying in bulk is stronger than ever.
Pendleton says that such buyers are benefiting from currency devaluations plus developers’ discounts, which together add up to a 40% discount on value overall.
Pendleton’s business yesterday launched a new investment and acquisition advisory service.
He said: “Anyone who thinks foreign investors and funds have beat a retreat from London are mistaken.
“The only people who have backed away are UK investors.
“Developers can see the market has softened and they are willing to give bigger discounts than at any point in the past ten years.
“As a result, there are a lot of big overseas funds and investors looking for freehold buildings that have a mix of commercial and residential in them.
“They are hoovering up dozens of homes at a time and their behaviour clearly indicates to us that the bottom of the London market is at hand.
“The prospect of a no-deal Brexit is a concern to some but, in reality, it would only spark a feeding frenzy among these large players who will pile in as the pound falls.
“The smart money is now looking at the London market, reading the cycle and deciding this is the time to get in.”
Comments (4)
Never thought I’d hear the phrase ‘London’s hit the bottom of the market so investors are hoovering up cheap properties there’!! I must be missing something here!
CBRE the global real estate giant based in the USA has recently gone one step better and hoovered up the Londoncentric Telford Homes for around £270m who farm the inner boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Newham amongst others
With a portfolio of sites working theirway thru the planning systen anda market leading deep involvement in BTR ,Another bit of UK plc lost across the pond dueto the weakening £ and reaping the post Brexit dividend
Then we need to stop the Brexit uncertainty, leave the EU and recover/prosper like never before.
Well maybe but what is a certainty the US is poised to rape and pillage UK plc in a Post Brexit world with a friendly welcome.US law firms taking great lumps of space in the City in anticipation.Holding all the aces .