London is a thriving city that is renowned for being a remarkable place to live and a compelling and desirable place to invest. London is one of the world's most sought-after places to both live and work and the number of overseas buyers it attracts each year continues to rise.
London is home to thousands of world-famous companies, attracting people from all over the world, drawn by major opportunities found in the capital. It's famous and highly-rated schools and universities are recognised around the globe as centres of excellence and the places are much sought after, creating a huge market for buy-to-let investors. An Olympic city for an unprecedented third time, the games in 2012 are set to attract thousands more people to the capital, making London's appeal stronger than ever.
London is seen globally as a trusted property market and compares favourably with other cities because it offers a lower price volatility.
In London, property prices have risen faster over the past ten years than any other region in the UK. Prices have outperformed the wider mainstream market due to continued demand from investors both in the UK and overseas, and asking prices remain 79% higher in London than the UK average, despite the unpredictable current housing market.
The average asking price for a London property now stands at £387,432 compared with the average for all of England and Wales of £216,163.
London's population has grown every year since 1988, and it is likely that in the years to 2031 it will continue its steady growth. Therefore the city must accommodate the growing population.†
Below is a table of particularly popular investment hotspots, and the average yields we have been able to secure there recently.
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London will continue to grow as a world city with the population increasing by 700,000 people by 2016. In order to accommodate this predicted growth, targets are in place for 31,000 new homes to be built each year to 2017. The Mayor of London has targeted East London as a priority area for development, regeneration and infrastructure improvement and has a capacity for at least 104,000 additional homes and 249,000 jobs by 2016.†
London continues to develop and invest in itself, with £100 billion worth of major development projects expected to transform London over the next decade. A series of high-rise buildings are under-construction or planned. Currently under construction is the Shard London Bridge, the Pinnacle, Heron Tower, the Leadenhall Building, and Broadgate Tower which will be at least 35 floors tall.‡
The 2012 Olympics will see the creation of a 587 acre Olympic Park which is the largest regeneration project in Europe. Spearheaded by the Olympics and Stratford City, London is expanding eastwards into the Thames Gateway, which expects to see £40 billion worth of private investment over the next two or three decades.
All of the above comes with a commitment to make London a more attractive, well designed and greener city.
London is to host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, both of which will have far-reaching benefits for London, Londoners and the rest of the UK, creating jobs, attracting visitors and providing inspiration. The 587 acre Olympic Park is part of the largest regeneration project in Europe.
The Games will leave a legacy of up to 9,000 new homes in the Olympic zone, more than half of them in the Olympic Village itself. The construction of the Olympic facilities will provide thousands of jobs for local people in the area in the run up to the Games.
The 2012 Games themselves will provide jobs and volunteering opportunities for Londoners, and the influx of spectators will produce a boost for the hospitality industry across London. The Games will be an international showcase for London's culture and creativity as well as a magnet for business, jobs and tourism. The effects of London 2012 will be felt long after the Olympic flame has left the capital.
Construction will include work on the permanent venues, support facilities for all Olympic and Paralympic events, the entire transport infrastructure and other supporting facilities. Additional construction work will include the dismantling of the temporary Games infrastructure and its conversion to long-term legacy use.
London is the driving force behind the UK's economy and is one of the world's largest financial centres, with every leading financial institution represented in London. Despite the current economic climate London's economy is expected to grow at a faster rate than New York, Paris or any other established global city to become the fourth largest city economy in the world by 2020.
The most influential decision-makers work in London, from global corporations and trade associations to international and national politics. London is also the gateway to the European Union's 27 member states, the biggest single market in the world, with a population of 500 million. In terms of workforce, London is home to Europe's largest regional labour pool with 9.8 million workers, one in three of which hold a university degree. Flexible labour markets also mean businesses can scale both up and down as quickly as required.
London is Europe's most visited location and visitor spending in London amounts to around £14.3 billion per year, drawing nearly 50% of all overseas visits to the UK. In 2006, estimates suggest that more than 25 million people visited London for an overnight stay, 15.2 million from overseas and 10.3 million from within the UK. In addition to this, 150 million tourist day trips are made annually to the capital.
London continues to develop and invest in itself: London's Thames Gateway development is the largest urban regeneration project in Europe. In all, London is investing in £190 billion worth of major development projects, including the Olympic Park in Stratford, which will transform London over the next five to ten years.
†Source : london.gov.uk
‡Source : www.lda.gov.uk
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