Weaker sterling sends Singapore buyers hunting for prime London property

LONDON’s prime residential real estate is once again in the sights of buyers from Singapore, as the British pound trades near historic lows against the Singapore dollar, resulting in attractive effective discounts.

JLL Singapore, for instance, has noticed an uptick in inquiries and sales from Singapore buyers in the past two to three months, after the pound plunged to an all-time low against the Singapore dollar at S$1.49 on Sep 26, following the UK government’s mini-budget on Sep 23. 

Since then, the pound has rallied and currently trades at around S$1.60. This is still near historic lows and about 10 per cent cheaper than it was in the previous year.