PropertyLoop Landlord News

London's super-rich property market booms with £3.1bn in sales

Written by PropertyLoop News | May 17, 2023 4:31:44 PM

The London property market for luxury homes has seen an increase in sales, with over 160 properties sold in the past year - at an average price of £19 million - worth a combined total of £3.1bn.

This marks the highest number of sales since 2016, when concerns over Brexit deterred global investors from investing in the UK's "super-prime" market.

Despite the political uncertainty surrounding Brexit, London still remains highly regarded by global buyers, according to the global head of prime sales at Knight Frank.

 

Labour party election win could dampen expectations 

Despite this promising news, some predict that super-prime sales will decrease by at least 10% over the next 12 months due to concerns over the Labour party's pledge to scrap a tax loophole for non-doms if they win the next general election.

This loophole allows the UK's resident super-rich non-doms to avoid paying tax on offshore income. Last year, academics found that 26,000 of those granted non-dom tax status by HM Revenue and Customs collected an average of £420,000 a year in unreported overseas income and capital gains.

The prime minister's wife, Akshata Murty, avoided up to £20m in tax on dividends from Infosys, an IT business co-founded by her father, thanks to her non-dom status.

Estate agents believe that issues such as the taxation of wealth and property and the status of non-doms are likely to come under growing scrutiny, which may affect the sales of luxury properties.

Despite this, several expensive London houses have recently come on the market, including a 45-room "private palace" overlooking Hyde Park, with an asking price of £200m.