Shailesh Menon, There is a political fire in the UK over the issue of whether or not the Mumbai European Union leaves in March. However, due to this rich Indians are getting good realty deals in Britain. The uncertainty over Breguit has created an environment of economic uncertainty in Britain. Due to this, property prices have fallen in London and other cities. According to British property consultant Clutons, property prices in London’s wooded areas have fallen by 5-7 per cent and the year-on-year decline could go up to 10 per cent.
According to some UK realty developers and real estate agents, due to the price drop, rich Indians are buying properties in the cities of England and the number of such Indians has increased by 15-20 per cent.
Mid-sized apartments in Delhi-Mumbai in posh areas like Liverpool Street, Oxford Street, Bond Street and Baker Street in London are selling twice as much as Rs 9 crore to Rs 14 crore. The prices of such properties in Delhi’s Lutyens Zone or South Mumbai are almost double this.
Price Correction in the Property Market
Simon De Friend, joint CEO at Regal London, the UK’s leading developer, said, “There are reports of price correction in the super-prime property market around London’s Mayfair and West End areas.”
Consulting firms such as JLL, Savills, Rightmove and CBRE are forecasting trends to remain flat or decrease across the UK. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, a professional entity associated with real estate, believes that demand for real estate may remain weak in the coming months due to uncertainty about bregpit and reining in family spending.
De Friend said, “The UK’s exit from the European Union has affected the market’s top end.” In the last five years, the number of Indians who want to buy properties in our London development portfolio has increased rapidly.
45 thousand rupees per square foot
Apartments in new areas of London, such as Reading, Maidenhead, Slow, Taplow and Canary Wharf, are being sold at a rate of about Rs 45000 per square foot, which is the rate of apartments in the relatively developed suburbs of Mumbai. Apartments in cities like Birmingham and Manchester do not cost more than Pune or Nashik.
Sanjay Guha, founder and MD of Aquist Realty, said, “Very wealthy Indians are looking to buy property in central London . They are buying it for personal use. Guha’s British subsidiary London Realty Connect has received more than 350 such ‘leads’ (inquiries) in the last few months. Foreigners are allowed to buy property
Foreigners are allowed to buy property in Britain. Non-residents may also seek ‘interest-only’ funding from British banks, in which interest is paid regularly and principal is to be repaid upon completion of the term of the loan. Interest is charged at the rate of 3 to 4 percent.
