British expats living abroad are increasingly buying buy-to-let homes in London and the South East .
According to a January 2017 PropertyWire.com article, figures released by the offshore bank Skipton International show that 40% of people living abroad who are investing in buy-to-let properties are purchasing in London, and a quarter (25%) in the South East. One in ten (10%) are buying in the South West and 10% in the North West, with 15% buying in other English and Welsh areas.
At one time, it was difficult for people not living in Britain to obtain mortgages for buying British property. This has changed, with commercial mortgage deals now available for expats to purchase buy-to-let properties in Britain. The availability of mortgages at low interest rates has attracted many expats to property investment.
Expats see property as a long-term investment and many look to property investing to provide pension funds. Although rental yields in many areas of London and the South East are low, house prices have increased notably over the last few years. In the North of England, rental yields are higher.
Skipton International said that 35% of expats say that the main reason for investing in property is because they see it as a long-term investment. Only 10% say that the rental income is why they bought buy-to-let property.
Nigel Pascoe of Skipton International said:
“British expats have many reasons for investing in buy-to-let property in the UK and long-term investment is usually the most important.”
