The fall in the value of the pound following the decision to leave the European Union over a year ago has in turn made the UK a cheaper location for overseas-based property investors.
As a result, a growing number of UK expats are choosing to invest in Britain’s buy-to-let market.
Falling Pound
During the past 12 months, the pound has fallen by almost 15% against the Euro. This means that buy-to-let investors based abroad now get more for their money when purchasing property in Britain.
Nigel Pascoe, Director of Lending at offshore bank Skipton International, observed: ‘We are delighted to have been able to help so many British expats secure UK properties and achieve their investment aims. Capital growth in UK property has been strong over the past few years and buy-to-let remains a very popular long-term investment for British expats.’[1]
Weaker pound making buy-to-let attractive to UK expats
To the end of May 2017, Skipton International recorded more than double the value of enquiries for expat mortgages, in comparison to the same period last year. This included a rise of 124% from UK expats in the UAE, a 145% increase from those in Switzerland and 175% from Britons in Hong Kong.
Continuing, Mr Pascoe said: ‘Many British expats who had been considering investing in UK property made the most of the devaluation of Sterling to use foreign savings. However, we must attribute the majority of growth to our team and the excellent levels of service they offer all our customers, for mortgages and for offshore savings.’
[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/9/weakmakes-uks-buy-to-let-market-more-attractive-for-british-expats