The proportion of people from overseas registering to buy a home in Britain is down to 1.0% says Hamptons letting agency.

This is the lowest percentage on record.

Meanwhile in Prime Central London only 2.9% of prospective buyers were based overseas, down from a peak of 7.9% in 2009.

Hamptons says the decline in demand has been predominantly driven by fewer Europeans relocating to Britain. Europeans made up 43% of overseas house hunters in Q1 2025, down from 48% in 2008.

Prospective buyers from North America have increasingly replaced Europeans.  They accounted for 16% of international house hunters looking in Q1, more than double the 6% recorded in 2008.  Nearly three-quarters of this group are looking to make a permanent move.

A statement from Hamptons says: “The combined effects of Brexit and the pandemic, alongside higher stamp duty costs, have dampened international buyer interest in Britain’s property market. Overseas-based applicants registering with an estate agent made up 2.0% of all house hunters across Great Britain in 2015, before the Brexit referendum.  

“By Q1 2025, this figure had halved to 1.0%, the lowest proportion since our records began in 2008.  These applicants must have an address registered abroad or an international phone number when registering with an agent to be defined as being based overseas.

“Prime Central London (PCL), which includes Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster, and the City of London, has traditionally been the heartland of international buyers.  Here, overseas applicants fell to the lowest share on record, making up 2.9% of all house hunters in Q1 2025, down from 4.0% in 2024 and 5.7% a decade ago. Sluggish price growth in PCL, where average prices have grown by 3.0% over the last 10 years according to Land Registry, combined with stamp duty increases and broader tax changes, have weighed on demand.”

“At country level, Americans and Canadians are now the largest single international buyer group from overseas – a title previously held by the French for most years leading up to Britain’s departure from the EU, and more recently, Hong Kongers.

“Demand from Middle Eastern buyers has also risen.  This year, they made up 14% of all international applicants looking to buy in Great Britain, marking a new high and up from 8% in 2008.  More of these buyers are choosing to relocate to Great Britain too.  In Q1 2025, 81% of applicants from the Middle East were looking for a permanent new home, the highest on record and up 11% compared to a decade ago when many were purchasing second homes in the UK.

“Meanwhile, the number of applicants looking to buy from Hong Kong has declined since peaking at 17% in 2020, just before the launch of the British National Overseas (BNO) visa.  They were the most common international applicants in 2019 and 2020.  In Q1 2025, they made up 2% of all overseas house hunters, the lowest proportion on record.”