Coronavirus affecting London property market

The Telegraph looks at what the coronavirus outbreak means for the London prime property market. It notes that the share of Chinese buyers in prime central London (PCL) has just hit an all-time high, accounting for 6% of all PCL sales in the last six months of 2019. “When it comes to Chinese and other Asian investment in UK property, the coronavirus outbreak is definitely a disrupter,” says Georg Chmiel of Juwai IQI, a company that helps Chinese buyers invest abroad. The group most vulnerable to a depressed Chinese market are developers, which typically market their projects off-plan. However, there is also a flipside: Coronavirus is bringing a spike in internet shopping, and interest from Chinese buyers on certain schemes, particularly those in the City, east and west London, is “up 50 to 60%,” since the outbreak began.

The Daily Telegraph (04/03/2020)