Wealthy buyers from abroad bought twenty per cent of properties in London’s most exclusive boroughs last year, data shows.
One in five homes sold in Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, and the City of London were snapped up by those from overseas, figures from the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills indicates.
The figures were obtained by Labour shadow London minister Sadiq Khan. He said: “Londoners are being priced out of the housing market by foreign buyers who see London property as an investment and in many cases leave properties empty as ghost homes.”
The Labour party has long called on the government to curb the number of foreign investors in the capital — arguing they price out Londoners, making it harder for them to get on the property ladder.
Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats have pledged to introduce a mansion tax if they win in the next general election.
Mr Khan added: “There are more than 60,000 homes empty across the city. In some parts up to one in five homes are not available to Londoners as a result.”
Recent research from estate agent Knight Frank showed that there had been a spike in people investing in the London property market due to the faltering economic recovery in the Eurozone.
It showed that between January and August of this year Italians were the biggest group of overseas buyers followed by the French and then the Russians.
