Students beat finance staff to rent London’s priciest properties
Properties in prime central London are increasingly being rented by wealthy students, many with international backgrounds, according to research yesterday.
Students now make up an astonishing 41 per cent of tenancies taken up in the capital’s priciest central areas, according to data from London Central Portfolio (LCP).
The figures also show financial professionals have made up just 21 per cent of the new tenancy starts in the last 12 months, the lowest proportion on the fund’s records.
Naomi Heaton, chief executive officer at LCP, said that the ambition of Chinese parents to send their children to university abroad meant the trend could continue.
Research from Deutsche Bank also illustrated the surge in international students enrolling on courses in the UK. Between 2008-09 and 2012-13 alone, the number of Chinese students rose by 78 per cent.
The bank also noted that while London house prices have risen by 52 per cent in sterling since January 2007, they have risen by only 30 per cent in Hong Kong dollar terms. During the same period, house prices are up 155 per cent in Hong Kong.