There has been an increase in the number of foreign nationals buying UK property, with those from Hong Kong still the largest cohort of overseas purchasers.
HM Land Registry figures obtained by lettings and estate agent Benham and Reeves, via a FOI request, show that 189,793 properties in England and Wales were owned by overseas buyers in 2024, an increase of 2.6% on the previous year’s data.
A significant proportion of these properties were in London. Overall, Hong Kong nationals owned 25,972 homes across the capital — equating to 13.7% of all homes owned by foreign buyers. This figure is up from 13.3% in 2023, with the total number of Hong Kong owners increasing by 5.7% year on year, the third largest year on year increase of all the different overseas nationals in the top 20.
Homeowners from Singapore accounted for the second largest proportion of the market, with 15,635 property titles, equating to 8.2% of all homes owned by a foreign national in 2024.
This was followed by buyers from the United States. US nationals owned 12,405 homes owned across England and Wales, accounting for 6.5% of all foreign owners, and is an increase of 5.5% year on year,
There were also a significant number of homes owned by those from the UAE (5.8% of all foreign-owned titles), with China (5.2%) completing the top five. However Benham and Reeve note there has been a significant 12.9% increase in the total homes owned year on year by Chinese nationals – the largest annual increase of all nations in the top 20.
The other nations included in the top ten are Ireland (4.9%), Australia (4.4%), Kuwait (4.1%) and France (3.6%).
Israel is the only new entry within the wider top 20 when compared to 2023, coming in at number 20 and replacing New Zealand, with a 6.6% increase in total property numbers in 2024 versus 2023 – the second largest year on year increase of all nations in the top 20.
Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr says: “When it comes to foreign buyer activity across the property market, Hong Kongers remain by far the most dominant nation and this has largely been the case since the launch of the British Nationals Overseas Visa in 2021.
“In fact, we’ve seen the overall proportion of market activity accounted for by Hong Kong nationals increase in the last year, which demonstrates that demand is not only strong, but it’s growing stronger by the year.
“Of course, there are other factors influencing foreign demand for London bricks and mortar, with more buyers from the United States entering the market following the re-election of Trump, whilst Israel has also entered the top 20 following the heightening of the conflict in Gaza.”