Property in London has always been attractive to international buyers and now it seems the trend headed by celebrities may be driving house prices up.
The latest celebrity to buy a luxury London property is said to be Kate Hudson who is said to want to have her baby in a new ã4 million home located in the north of the capital.
Celebrities like Madonna spend millions on luxury homes in London helping to push up average house prices. In 2007 Madonna was said to have spent more than ã6 million buying her sixth London property.
Other examples come in the form of Kate Moss who is rumoured to have recently offered a ã8 million for a house on The Grove in London’s Highgate Hill
Belsize Park London saw Gwyneth Paltrow buy Kate Winsletââ¬â¢s old home she plans to transform it into a 33-room London mansion.
The proportion of ã2m-plus London house sales which have gone to non-UK buyers hit 52pc, according to Knight Frank. For properties worth more than ã5m, the figure was 64pc.
The number of nationalities buying in London has risen from 46 in 2009 to 61 in 2010, while prices were up 1pc in February alone.
Knight Frank has attributed the growth in prime London prices to international demand. However, low stock volumes and buyers preferring to buy and fix their borrowing costs at low rates are mentioned as other reasons.
The RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors) housing market survey found 14 per cent more of its clients in London reported prices rising rather than falling.
This is in direct contrast to the national picture where 26 per cent more saw prices fall rather than rise.
Author Nick Marr
