17 July, 2017
There, according to national lettings agency Countrywide, foreign ownership of buy-to-lets has fallen from 26pc of all let properties in 2010 to just 11pc today.
One in 20 (5%) homes now let in Britain is owned by overseas landlords, according to the data from Countrywide, based on 90,000 homes it lets and manages every year.
New research also released Monday by property search website Rightmove suggests that house sales have picked up in the year since the Brexit vote but price increases have been limited, rising by an average of just £300 in the month from June to July.
However, although the proportion of foreign-based landlords letting property in prime central London has dropped from its 2010 figure of 31 per cent, the 2017 figure is still a hefty 23 per cent.
The average overseas based landlord earnt 35% more in rent a year ago than one living in the United Kingdom and over half of the income earnt by overseas landlords came from rental homes in London. Outside London, Europeans remain the biggest group of foreign landlords at 37%. During 2010, landlords from this continent made up 39% of all overseas landlords in the capital.
Moreover, overseas landlords earned 35% more in rent in 2016 than those living in the United Kingdom, with a total of £5.4bn earned in rent over the last 12 months.
Asians, including those from Hong Kong, have taken over as the biggest London buyers.
The number of European based landlords has been gradually falling over time, more so than any other part of the world.
A year ago also saw a stamp duty hike for people buying second homes, including buy-to-let investors, among other tax changes for landlords which could potentially eat into their profits.
Investors who already own a property have had to pay a 3% surcharge on stamp duty since April 2016.
Tax changes introduced in recent years include capital gains tax payable in Britain, higher rates of stamp duty on the purchase of property, and ongoing annual taxes levied on properties owned via overseas companies. In recent months, other major regional cities such as Manchester have been powering ahead.
Johnny Morris, research director at Countrywide, said: "A steady increase in foreign investors' tax bills combined with more recent falling expectations of price growth in London has led to a decline in foreign investment in buy-to-let".
