Middle East investors drive demand for London residential property

Dubai Investors from the Middle East poured $180 million (Dh661.1 million) into London property last year, according to a new report released Monday by real estate consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). JLL says it sold $2 billion worth of London new build residential property to foreign buyers in 2011, with regional investors accounting for about nine per cent, up from five per cent in 2010. London's reputation as a safe haven for investors is being reinforced, not undermined, by global troubles Ben Stroud, JLL London's affluent districts have always been highly sought after by Middle Eastern buyers, but the British capital, in a year when its hosts the Olympics, has seen its appeal grow further over the past year despite concerns over the UK economy and the unfolding debt crisis in the Eurozone. JLL also said the Middle East now accounts for the second largest group of foreign investors buying into the London residential market after nationals from the Asia Pacific region, who accounted for 15 per cent of overall sales. "London's reputation as a safe haven for investors is being reinforced, not undermined, by global troubles," Ben Stroud, associate director of the residential agency, development and investment, at JLL said. "Additional incentives such as a weak sterling and a favourable tax system are also making it more attractive among a range of potential foreign investors. "London [also] continues to offer solid growth potential and its twinned status as an accessible capital city and financial centre, alongside a stable political system and transparent legal framework, continues to attract interest from across the Middle East," he added.