London property investment from South-East Asia knows no bounds

Attendance at Benham and Reeves Residential Lettings’ latest series of property investment seminars in South East Asia has surpassed expectations, with over 150 investors turning out to attend the company’s roadshows in Hong Kong, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. The central London letting agency teamed up with companies such as Citibank and OCBC Bank in Singapore to present the seminars highlighting the latest developments in the London residential property market. Private appointments were also held over a 8 day roadshow.

“This has been our busiest trip to date, showing that demand from South East Asian investors for London residential property shows no signs of slowing down,” reports Anita Mehra, Managing Director of the company, central London’s largest, independent lettings agency. “Even the recent news that Singapore’s central bank has announced plans to impose restrictions on loans taken out by Singaporeans for their investments, seems to have had little impact so far on investors’ appetite for investing in London rental property.”

“Of course, investment conditions in London remain fairly settled and investors continue to be drawn by the UK’s economic stability, transparent legal system and liberal tax system. Some of the investors we meet are wealthy individuals who are simply looking for a safe haven for their wealth and London property meets their investment criteria, providing good, long-term capital growth. These investors tend to stick to prime central London – it has a unique cachet, with beautiful properties and a real kudos that few other international cities can match.”

“Another reason that Malaysian investors choose central London properties is that many Malaysian banks for instance, will only lend on properties in Zones 1 and 2. But many investors that are able to pay cash are looking for a good rental yield as well and are now looking at new developments on the fringes of the city and central London where purchase prices are lower yet rental demand is just as high, providing them with better rental yields – typically around 5%,” continues Anita.

“At the moment we’re finding investment properties in East London and Docklands are attracting a lot of interest from South East Asian investors – developments such as New Festival Quarter on the borders of Bow, Marine Wharf & Number 1 The Plaza in Greenwich, Avant Garde in Shoreditch and Altitude in Aldgate (the latter two are in Zone 1 so meet the Malaysian banks’ lending criteria). The Triton Building in Kings Cross, NW1, also in Zone 1, is another popular development.”

“It seems that London’s favourable economic conditions – strong rental demand and healthy rental yields coupled with good long-term capital growth, continue to attract overseas investors. With most commentators predicting a growing shortage of housing in London over the next few years, we don’t expect this situation to change significantly,” concludes Anita.