Speaking to Mortgage Solutions, the bank’s head of broker partnerships said: “Stability is definitely going to be a driver, and now things have quietened down after what happened at the end of last year. We have seen an increase right across the various property markets as people are feeling a little bit more comfortable about things.”
Connor pointed out that London proved itself to be resilient to political changes for the most part, so he did not expect any developments to cause any major shifts in that part of the market.
He also said political change or unrest in other countries tended to result in an interest in the London and UK markets, noting that there had been more clients coming from South America recently.
International borrowers tend to come from parts of the world where they trade in dollars as the differential between the sterling and the dollar “offers them an opportunity”, Connor noted.
He added: “There are certain countries where inflation is running quite high, and you have political instability in others. International high-net-worth clients will look further afield to ensure they’re stabilising their assets or to put a base in London.”
New developments gaining interest
Connor said the UK had “two distinct markets” which operate differently when it comes to high-net-worth and overseas borrowers.
He said there had been a recent growth in the interest of prime central London properties which there was “always a market” for. However, buyers have been expanding a little outside of the traditional areas such as Knightsbridge, Kensington, Chelsea and Mayfair and were interested in new developments in areas like Battersea, Nine Elms and Bayswater.
Connor added: “The type of international buyer we’re seeing is evolving. The more traditional high-net-worth individual – I suppose what you might call old money – is still looking at the traditional areas. However, the more entrepreneurial or the second, third or fourth generations of these families are looking for a different product, a slightly more modern one. That’s where some of the very high-end developments are attracting interest.”
He also said some international buyers had shown interest in investing in properties outside of London to make the most out of low prices and higher yields.
Connor said this was less of an issue with the ultra-high-net-worth borrower as they would “just put a bit more money in and make the yield work”.
UK market will always be attractive
Connor said the UK’s property market, in particular London, would always entice high-networth borrowers and those living internationally.
“There are some fundamentals about London and the London market that haven’t changed. London continues to sort of be a global city. A lot of international buyers like the lifestyle. That’s not just the business, but the cultural aspects too,” he added.
He said the costs of investing in property in London were not as high in comparison to other global cities so it remained “fairly attractive”.
He said investors were shifting to holding onto properties for longer and putting it to their own use which was changing the shape of the market and impacting what is available.
Connor added: “Certainly, from our point of view we’ve seen a fairly robust market.”
He said this would likely remain to be the case for the rest of the year.
