The strength of the dollar is attracting more US buyers to the capital, according Winkworth.
The softening of property prices in prime central London in recent years has also appealed to prospective foreign purchasers, including those coming from the US.
Christian Lock-Necrews, who recently took over the Winkworth’s Knightsbridge, Chelsea and Belgravia office, commented: “There are some very significant sales agreed with American buyers taking advantage of the currency play, many believing the lower levels of competition in the London market and strength of the dollar has allowed them to buy at a low point.
“Typically, the profile of these US families has been mainly from the film and media world, under 50 years of age, or entrepreneurs where they have no ties to a particular location, and still like the familiarly of what London has to offer. The market is providing opportunities in both respects.”
Lock-Necrews told the latest episode of Winkworth’s Property Exchange podcast: “There is a real opportunity for international buyers, Americans and any nationality where the currency is dollar denominated.”
Winkworth reports that its website has seen a surge in traffic from the US – with 30% more visits last year compared to 2023.
Dominic Agace, Winkworth’s chief executive, added: “We’ve seen demand increased, the dollar strengthened. London is a place that appeals to very successful people to bring up their families because of its infrastructure and its schools. However, some of the non-dom tax changes relating to inheritance tax are more challenging for them.”
Winkworth is not the only London-based estate agency to see a sharp rise buyers from the US.
Knight Frank has also seen a surge in purchasing coming in from across the pond.
Knight Frank concurs that the strength of the US dollar may have played a part, as buyers using the greenback enjoyed a 38% discount on properties in prime parts of London, compared with what they might have paid a decade ago.
But Knight Frank also believes that many super-rich Americans are buying up London properties to escape Trump.
Americans accounted for 11.6% of all overseas buyers in central London during the final three months of 2024, according to research from Knight Frank, as they surpassed their counterparts from China, who made up 8.1%.
The rise in wealthy US buyers comes as Americans applying for UK citizenship recently hit a record high, according to the Home Office, with Donald Trump’s return to the White House thought to be a major factor behind the influx.
More than 6,100 people applied last year, the data show, with applications surging by 40pc year-on-year in the final three months of 2024 – the same period which saw Trump re-elected to the White House.
Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, said Britain is well-placed to position itself as a safe bet for overseas investment.
