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08-06-11

Number of Arab homebuyers in London doubles

(MENAFN) Knight Frank consultancy's residential research manager, Liam Bailey, said that since investors looked for safe place to establish their business, in recent months, the number of Middle Eastern homebuyers in London increased almost to the double, reported The National. Bailey added that the majority of these buyers were from Bahrain, Iraq, Oman, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia due to the region's political upheaval, adding that during the period from January to May, the number of buyers from the Middle East rose by 100 percent compared with the same period in 2010. On the other hand, Savill's Co. residential researchss director, Yolande Barnes, said that during the first quarter of 2011, Middle East homebuyers' share in the sales in prime central London reached 10 percent, compared with 7 percent in the same quarter a year ago. Barnes also said that the average these buyers paid for houses in the most sought after neighborhoods reached USD8.8 million compared with USD5.4 million paid by UK buyers, whereas the biggest buyers were Russians and Eastern Europeans who paid more than USD13 million. It is worth noting that June and July are considered the busiest period for buyers from the Middle East, the period would witness biggest sales activities of the year in central London, and as a result, house prices, which have risen steadily since 2009, will probably continue to rise.

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