London property has not lost its allure for overseas buyers, as our research highlights.
Despite the changes to the non-dom regime, lower inward migration and steeper stamp duty and other transaction expenses, international demand for prime central London (PCL) property is up by 4.6% this year. There has also been a 3.2% annual increase in the rest of London.
North Americans (from both the USA and Canada) are the most eager group of buyers, which has been the case for nine out of the past eleven years. They make up 21.9% of those house hunting in PCL. This may be 2.5% lower than in 2025, but North Americans also account for 18.9% of those shopping for a home in other parts of London, and 16.8% of house hunters in the rest of Great Britain.
North Americans may lead the field of international house hunters, but the French and the Italians take second and third places in the league.
The weakness of sterling is one reason for the enthusiasm, particularly in prime central London (PCL). Based on exchange rate movements alone, a home in PCL is 12% cheaper for a purchaser with dollars than it was in 2015, while someone buying in euros benefits from a 16% reduction. Property price falls over the same period have made the opportunity more appealing still.
In 2020 when the BNO visa (issued to individuals from Hong Kong who hold British National Overseas status) was announced, people from Hong Kong dominated the pursuit of prime central London homes. Then, over the following few years their interest tapered off slowly. Since then, the number of European buyers has risen, with this group now representing 46.9% of those seeking a home, against 40.6% a year ago marking the highest proportion since Brexit in 2016.
The surge in European interest should be seen in a wider context, however. In the days before the EU Referendum they used to be the top cohort of buyers. But more EU nationals are now leaving the UK than arriving, as Office for National Statistics migration data shows. In 2025, 42,000 more EU citizens departed than entered.
For those purchasing in London, 56.7% opted for Kensington & Chelsea and 12.1% headed for Westminster so far this year.
International buyers may be more selective than they once were, but lower property prices and favourable exchange rates mean the capital’s best-known neighbourhoods have not lost their allure.
The typical budget of a would-be purchaser in PCL and the wider prime market is £1.6 million. In Greater London, this falls to £850,000 and to £350,000 in the rest of Great Britain.
Kensington & Chelsea may be the most popular district, but Westminster is the place where people are prepared to spend the most; the median international homebuyer budget is £2.5 million. The Hammersmith & Fulham budget is also £2.5 million and £2.25 million in Islington.
Americans’ prime focus is Kensington & Chelsea, where they make up 33.3% of applicants for homes; Italians are in second place, accounting for 11%.
In Westminster, Wandsworth and Camden, Americans represent 30.4%, 22.2% and 18.9% of those registering from abroad. Hammersmith & Fulham is the French favourite.
Among those looking at homes in PCL, 19.5% are cash buyers, compared with 21.4% in the wider prime London market and 14.7% in Greater London.
Fewer overseas buyers are heading for Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Liverpool, Sheffield, Newcastle, Nottingham and Leicester.
These cities account for 5.1% of all overseas-based applicant registrations, against 7.7% in 2025. Some 45.6% of these buyers were on the hunt for an investment property, with more than half ready to pay cash; the median budget is £200,000.
Overseas demand is once again becoming more concentrated in London, while fewer buyers look to the regional cities. International buyers may be more selective than they once were, but lower property prices and favourable exchange rates mean the capital’s best-known neighbourhoods have not lost their allure.
