LONDON CHASES MONEY FROM AROUND THE WORLD

2008 will be the year that developers finally ‘wake up’ to the urgency of attracting foreign investment into the London property market, claims specialist London Estate agent Hurford Salvi Carr.

“Lower capital gains and unstable economic conditions will undoubtedly knock UK investment to London’s residential market this year, forcing developers to reconsider their sales strategy in order to maintain consistent levels of investment”, says Jonathon Woodfield, New Homes Director at Hurford Salvi Carr.

“The past ten years have seen unprecedented growth in the market and developers have been able to rest on their laurels. Now the tide is turning, we will see many developers following in the footsteps of Gordon Brown’s money trail to secure investment in emerging markets including Russia, China, India, the Middle East and South America,” adds Mr Woodfield.

Already this year, the company is instructed on thirteen new developments in the City and London’s Docklands. The smaller, boutique-style developments in the City are maintaining their value and proving popular with owner-occupiers, whilst the lower prices in prime Docklands areas offer good value for money for overseas investors. In addition, rental yields continue to be strong in 2008 making buy-to-let a feasible option.

Although the UK investor market will be significantly slowed by restricted loan-terms, from a global perspective, London remains a leading world city and financial hub, ripe for overseas investment. According to Hurford Salvi Carr, and supported by Macqaurie Bank’s latest real estate document, this year developers will have to approach investors in cities such as Brazil, Tel Aviv, Bejing and Mumbai to encourage bulk sales and promote the UK market as a secure option in light of recent downturns in the US economy.

“These emerging financial hubs are the future of the UK’s residential investment market, at least for the foreseeable future,” concludes Mr Woodfield. “Developers will now need to embrace this fact and pull out all the stops to impress both private and corporate equity investors in these areas.”

For further information on Hurford Salvi Carr’s New Homes instructions for 2008, please contact Jonathon Woodfield on 020 7791 7071.