The foreign location with the most UK property owners revealed

Research by Benham and Reeves shows that the place with the most owners of properties in England and Wales is Hong Kong.

Hong Kong

Buyers from Hong Kong own more properties in England and Wales than any other foreign place, new data reveals.

Research by London lettings and estate agent, Benham and Reeves, shows that residents from the 50 most represented foreign locations combine to own 187,275 properties.

Buyers from Hong Kong own the largest proportion of these properties, with 24,759 homes representing 13.2% of the total.

Benham and Reeves submitted a Freedom of Information request to the Land Registry to ascertain the 50 most prominent overseas places represented among individual residential property owners, and how many properties they own.

Ownership increased

Buyers from Singapore own 15,752 properties, or 8.4% of the total, while buyers from the US account for 6.4%.

UAE accounts for 5.7% of the total, while buyers from Ireland (5.3%), Malaysia (5.2%), China (4.6%), Australia (4.4%), Kuwait (4.3%), and France (3.7%) are also strongly represented on the housing market.

These figures come after the total number of properties owned by buyers from the top 50 foreign places increased by 3.8% between January last year and this January.

Ownership by Chinese nationals has increased the most in the past year, rising by 18.8% to 8,736 properties.

Three countries have seen their ownership proportion decline in the past year.

Buyers from Ireland now own 3.5% less property, while Taiwan has reduced ownership by 3.3%, and Russian residents now own 0.5% less property than they did at the start of 2022.

“It’s no secret that England and Wales is a hugely attractive market”

Marc von Grundherr image
Marc von Grundherr, Director, Benham and Reeves

Marc von Grundherr, director of Benham and Reeves, says: “It’s no secret that England and Wales is a hugely attractive market for overseas property buyers, with London being a particularly desirable location.

“While this popularity isn’t limited to one single nation, it’s certainly being driven by Hong Kong buyers who continue to be the most prominent foreign nation’s operating within our bricks and mortar market.”


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