The international property website Homesgofast.com reports that UK agents, builders and private sellers are now turning to overseas buyers to help them sell their homes. The types of sellers range from well known house builders , investment property developers and millionaire property owners.
The UK housing market has seemingly slowed so much that it is now a boom lettings market where home owners are finding sales very difficult. The UKs largest property website Rightmove.co.uk warned of an increase in the number of estate agents going out of business as the economic downturn grips the market.
Group managing director Ed Williams ‘Lettings is a boom business at the moment and housebuilders are working harder than ever to achieve sales.”
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has now cut stamp duty on home purchases as part of a package to boost the country’s slumping housing market. Properties worth less than 175,000 pounds ($316,000) would be exempt from the tax for one year, up from a 125,000 pound threshold now. That will cost the budget an extra 600 million pounds over two years
Londoner Jayne Skynner is currently trying to sell her luxury apartment in Dulwich London ‘I decided to use an overseas property website because I thought they could reach a broad spread of overseas investors instantly. There is still a lot of wealth coming out of the old eastern block countries and a huge growth of affluent middleclass people in India, and I believe both these sectors will view desirable UK property as a valuable asset to have and at the same time overseas investors are recognizing that now is a good time to buy as the UK market is correcting itself.’
Director Homesgofast.com Nicholas Marr ‘ Its clear that UK agents and private sellers see that their potential buyers may came from abroad, one luxury home we have on our site has a price tag of 5 million pounds (see luxury property Essex) this property has only attracted overseas buyers with interest from Canada , Russia and the USA ‘
Meanwhile the overseas property website was approached by one of the UK’s largest house builders who are seeking international buyers to help sell their unsold inventory. The house builder was particular attracted to Indian buyers who it felt that they would be a good source of keen buyers for their North London homes.
