The latest research by London lettings and estate agent, Benham and Reeves, reveals that Hong Kong buyers remain the most prominent foreign national owners of property across the residential market in England & Wales.
Benham and Reeves submitted a Freedom of Information request to the Land Registry to ascertain the 50 most prominent foreign nations represented among individual residential property owners in England & Wales, and how many properties they own.
The data shows that buyers from the 50 most represented foreign nations among owners of homes in England & Wales combine to own 187,275 properties.
Hong Kong buyers most prominent nation
Buyers from Hong Kong own the largest proportion of these properties, with 24,759 homes representing 13.2% of the aforementioned total.
Buyers from Singapore own 15,752 properties, or 8.4% of the total; while buyers from the U.S account for 6.4%.
Buyers from the UAE account for 5.7% of the total, while buyers from Ireland (5.3%), Malaysia (5.2%), China (4.6%), Australia (4.4%), Kuwait (4.3%), and France (3.7%) are also strongly represented on the national housing market.
Increase in foreign buyer numbers
These figures come after the total number of properties owned by buyers from the top 50 foreign nations increased by 3.8% between January 2022 and January 2023.
Ownership for Chinese buyers has increased the most in the past year, rising by 18.8% to own 8,736 properties.
Hong Kong nationals have increased their presence by 11.6% since 2022; and Israeli buyers have increased their footprint on the national housing market by 9.8%.
Significant increases have also been recorded among buyers from Gibraltar (6.7%), Austria (6.7%), Turkey (6.7%), Egypt (6.3%), Norway (5.1%), Germany (4.8%), and Sweden (4.7%).
Among the top 50 most represented nations on England & Wales’ housing market, three have actually seen their ownership proportion decline in the past year.
Buyers from Ireland now own -3.5% less property, buyers from Taiwan have reduced ownership by -3.3%, and Russian buyers now own -0.5% less property than they did at the start of 2022.
Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, commented:
“It’s no secret that England & Wales is a hugely attractive market for overseas property buyers, with London being a particularly desirable location. The stability of our property market offers reliably a profitable space for investment buyers, and our country, with its rich history and culture, has long held great appeal for people looking to buy outside of their home countries.
Many experts believed that Brexit would result in there being fewer overseas owners as access to the EU was reduced and the anticipated economic struggles removed some of the profitability of investing in our great nation. Our exclusive research reveals that none of this has come to fruition and that, in fact, our market has only become more popular.
While this popularity isn’t limited to one single nation, it’s certainly being driven by Hong Kong buyers who continue to be the most prominent foreign nation’s operating within our bricks and mortar market.
This is certainly no new trend and Benham and Reeves has had a local Hong Kong office since 1995, helping those who are looking to purchase in England and Wales. However, it’s fair to say that our team of experts in Hong Kong have never been busier and we expect this to remain the case going forward.”
Table shows the number of homes owned by individual buyers from the 50 most represented foreign nations on the
England & Wales housing market.
Nation
Overseas owners – Jan 2023
Proportion %
Hong Kong
24,759
13.22%
Singapore
15,752
8.41%
United States Of America
11,958
6.39%
United Arab Emirates
10,713
5.72%
Ireland
9,943
5.31%
Malaysia
9,778
5.22%
China
8,736
4.66%
Australia
8,272
4.42%
Kuwait
7,977
4.26%
France
6,893
3.68%
Saudi Arabia
6,645
3.55%
South Africa
5,275
2.82%
Spain
4,525
2.42%
Switzerland
3,814
2.04%
Qatar
3,264
1.74%
Canada
3,057
1.63%
Germany
3,042
1.62%
Italy
2,508
1.34%
Bahrain
2,485
1.33%
New Zealand
2,392
1.28%
Cyprus
2,311
1.23%
Israel
2,287
1.22%
Isle Of Man
1,547
0.83%
Jersey
1,517
0.81%
Netherlands
1,450
0.77%
Thailand
1,333
0.71%
Belgium
1,273
0.68%
Japan
1,270
0.68%
Nigeria
1,223
0.65%
Taiwan
1,134
0.61%
Guernsey
1,115
0.60%
Russian Federation
1,091
0.58%
Greece
968
0.52%
India
956
0.51%
Turkey
914
0.49%
Portugal
893
0.48%
Sultanate Of Oman
891
0.48%
Pakistan
824
0.44%
Egypt
677
0.36%
Kenya
573
0.31%
Sweden
530
0.28%
Bermuda
491
0.26%
Monaco
451
0.24%
Austria
447
0.24%
Norway
434
0.23%
Malta
416
0.22%
Gibraltar
350
0.19%
Brunei Darussalam
334
0.18%
Jordan
319
0.17%
Luxembourg
313
0.17%
England and Wales
187,275
100.00%
Table shows the annual change in the number of homes owned by individual buyers from the 50 most represented
foreign nations on the England & Wales housing market.
Nation
Overseas owners – Jan 2022
Overseas owners – Jan 2023
Change %
China
7,354
8,736
18.8%
Hong Kong
22,177
24,759
11.6%
Israel
2,082
2,287
9.8%
Gibraltar
328
350
6.7%
Austria
419
447
6.7%
Turkey
857
914
6.7%
Egypt
637
677
6.3%
Norway
413
434
5.1%
Germany
2,903
3,042
4.8%
Sweden
506
530
4.7%
Bermuda
470
491
4.5%
United States Of America
11,455
11,958
4.4%
India
917
956
4.3%
United Arab Emirates
10,358
10,713
3.4%
Netherlands
1,402
1,450
3.4%
Portugal
865
893
3.2%
Sultanate Of Oman
864
891
3.1%
South Africa
5,116
5,275
3.1%
Canada
2,971
3,057
2.9%
Nigeria
1,190
1,223
2.8%
Malta
405
416
2.7%
Qatar
3,180
3,264
2.6%
Luxembourg
305
313
2.6%
Switzerland
3,719
3,814
2.6%
Thailand
1,301
1,333
2.5%
Cyprus
2,257
2,311
2.4%
Kenya
560
573
2.3%
Australia
8,087
8,272
2.3%
Saudi Arabia
6,499
6,645
2.2%
Jordan
313
319
1.9%
Brunei Darussalam
328
334
1.8%
Guernsey
1,096
1,115
1.7%
New Zealand
2,352
2,392
1.7%
Greece
952
968
1.7%
France
6,790
6,893
1.5%
Pakistan
812
824
1.5%
Japan
1,252
1,270
1.4%
Kuwait
7,883
7,977
1.2%
Malaysia
9,677
9,778
1.0%
Isle Of Man
1,532
1,547
1.0%
Jersey
1,506
1,517
0.7%
Belgium
1,266
1,273
0.6%
Singapore
15,671
15,752
0.5%
Italy
2,496
2,508
0.5%
Spain
4,514
4,525
0.2%
Monaco
450
451
0.2%
Bahrain
2,482
2,485
0.1%
Russian Federation
1,097
1,091
-0.5%
Taiwan
1,173
1,134
-3.3%
Ireland
10,302
9,943
-3.5%
England and Wales
180,421
187,275
3.8%
Overseas individual ownership data sourced through a Freedom of Information request to the Land Registry submitted by Benham and Reeves. Below data applies properties owned by individuals with an overseas correspondence address and not those properties registered with offshore companies.
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About the Author
Established in 1958, Benham and Reeves is one of London’s oldest, independently owned property lettings and sales agents. With specialism in residential sales, corporate lettings and property management in prime areas of London, the company operates from 20 prominently located branches and 11 international offices.