The advantage given to overseas buyers when Sterling weakened during the long-running Brexit saga has returned with the arrival of the Coronavirus crisis to the UK.
That’s the view of Knight Frank which says the pound has slumped by12 per cent over the last two weeks to a low of $1.15 on March 23, its lowest level since 1985.
“The logical conclusion is that its weakness is due to the dollar’s strength but the pound has also fallen against the yen and has dropped by about 6% against the euro to €1.07, its lowest level since 2009” says Knight Frank.
It says the 12 per cent currency advantage for a US dollar buyer looking at, say, a London property could be a game changer, especially for the most expensive homes.
“Such shifts can help mitigate property purchase costs and go some way to reduce significant foreign buyer taxes in markets such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Vancouver” says the agency.
“In the case of big ticket sales that have been under negotiation for several weeks or even months, a double-digit shift in currency can make a significant difference to buyer sentiment” it continues.
Add to this the extremely low mortgage cost today - a UK tracker mortgage hit 0.8% earlier this week - and an overseas purchase in this country looks increasingly attractive, according to the agency.
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A light and heartening article for a Friday. Watch out for next week when their branch offices will have never been so busy.
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