The profile of international buyers continues to shift away from investors to owner-occupiers, according to a new analysis.

Hamptons, a high profile lettings agency, says that over the past decade, the share of overseas‑based applicants looking for a buy‑to‑let property has fallen from 17% to 12%.

Meanwhile the proportion seeking a second home has more than halved, from 6% to just 2%.  

The agency claims that together, this reflects the cumulative impact of higher stamp duty surcharges and less favourable tax treatment for overseas landlords.

At the same time, first‑time buyers accounted for 23% of all international applicants in Q1 2026, nearly three times the share recorded a decade ago.  

Among North American applicants in particular, 27% were first-time buyers, while only 10% were seeking an investment property.

More generally, North Americans form the fastest‑growing international buyer group in Britain.  

In the first quarter of this year, they accounted for a record 19% of all overseas-based applicants looking for a property in Britain, says Hamptons.

That’s up four percentage points on last year and eleven points higher than a decade ago.

There were 13% more North Americans registering to buy property in Britain in Q1 2026 than in the same period last year, despite a 10% overall decline in international registrations.

European buyers, when aggregated, account for 54% of international applicants.  

While their share is broadly unchanged year-on-year, European applicants now stand eight percentage points lower than a decade ago – Hamptons says this is “in part a lasting legacy of Brexit.”  

Much of this longer‑term decline has been driven by reduced demand from French and Spanish buyers, who made up a far larger share of international applicants a decade ago.  

So far, there are no signs of an uplift in demand from Middle Eastern buyers looking to buy into Britain’s housing market, following the outbreak of hostilities.

Applicants from the Middle East accounted for just 5% of all overseas‑based house hunters in Q1 2026, the lowest share recorded since 2013 and down 1% year-on-year.

Registrations from the region fell sharply following the outbreak of war, declining 27% month‑on‑month and standing 58% lower than in March last year.  

The agency says this appears to reflect caution around new purchases, with many Middle Eastern households retaining existing UK homes, opting to rent as a stop‑gap, or choosing to base themselves in other countries.

Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons, says: “The slowdown in international demand largely reflects higher stamp duty costs and a tougher tax backdrop, particularly for overseas investors.  

“An international buyer purchasing a £1m home in England would now face a stamp duty bill of £63,750, rising to £113,750 if they were buying a second home or a buy‑to‑let.  

“Even as rental yields improve, those upfront costs are becoming harder to justify, pushing investment elsewhere.

“In the past, strong price growth, especially in London, helped offset those costs.  Today, however, with weaker or falling prices across parts of the capital, many international households relocating there are choosing to rent instead.”