London’s billionaire home buyers market doubled last year
The London market for multi-millionaire and billionaire home buyers doubled during 2021, with Russian and Chinese buyers set to inject new energy into the market this year.
According to a survey from Beauchamp Estates, in 2021 there were 32 sales for London homes with price tags topping £15m, compared to 17 sales in 2020.
Over the past two years, the total sale of 49 pricey properties has amounted to more than £1.29bn’s worth of property sold.
The estate agent has predicted a boom for the London super-prime market as the world learns to grapple with Covid, with buyers in Russia and China leading the way.
Buyers were motivated by access to preferential-rate interest-only mortgages, which allowed them to borrow at rates below the rate of inflation, according to Gary Hersham, founding director of Beauchamp Estates.
Billionaire mortgages
These so-called “billionaire mortgages” mean that the super-rich have been “essentially borrowing for free,” Hersham explained.
“Over the last 24 months there have effectively been two to three billionaire buyer property deals per month in central London which underlines that the capital’s luxury real estate market is the best place in the world for the super rich to store their wealth,” he added.
Over the last two years, the SW1 postcodes of Belgravia and Knightsbridge have been the most popular locations for the super-rich to snap up properties, with 14 deals. Nearby, the W1 postcode of Mayfair accounted for 10 deals.
However, a rising cohort of younger buyers have seen focus turn from the traditional Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Mayfair postcodes to other parts of the capital.
Buyers in their late 20s or early 30s have honed in on Notting Hill as a desired location to buy, according to Beauchamp’s survey.
Some 20 mansions and townhouses with price tags above £15m were sold in 2021, compared to 11 in 2020.
The average London billionaire’s home comprises 9,384 sq ft in size, with seven bedrooms, a private cinema, health spa, swimming pool and generous garden, the estate agent said.
The volume of luxury mega-apartment and penthouse deals has also jumped, with nine deals in 2021, compared to six in 2020.
The average super-rich apartment or penthouse was 6,128 sq ft on average with four bedrooms and large private balconies and terraces, the survey revealed.