Dearth of international super-prime buyers opens market up for young Brits
The non-dom exodus and a dearth of super-prime buyers has pushed the price of London’s super-prime property down, shifting the buyer profile to younger domestic buyers.
Prices are at a 10-year low, nominally below where they were even in 2014.
““Prices across the capital’s prime markets are offering significant value… Those taking advantage [of this] tend to be younger domestic buyers,” Nick Maud, director of research at Savills, said.
According to Savills, under 30s accounted for 24 per cent of London buyers in the first half of 2025, compared with 19 per cent over the same period last year and 12 per cent a decade ago.
Maud put this down to tax: “Younger domestic buyers… are less likely to be immediately concerned about inheritance tax liability.”
The end of the non-dom regime, which had provided an inheritance tax loophole for non-doms, has been a key driver of international movement as financial climates like Dubai, Milan and Monaco become ever-more attractive.
Beauchamp Estates analysis has found that 70 per cent of the vendors of £15m plus London homes selling during 2025 have been non-doms in the process of moving overseas.
“There is no doubt that appetite for the top end of London’s market has stalled following tax changes introduced at the last budget,” Maud said.
But the historic value on offer may cause the market to turn a corner. Alongside younger buyers, the capital’s property is increasingly attractive to Americans looking to leave Trump’s presidency.
Wealthy Americans make up an increasing proportion of London’s super-prime market – applicants from North America, primarily from the United States, accounted for a record 16 per cent of all international buyers looking to purchase a property in Great Britain during the first quarter of this year, according to Hamptons.
“While Europeans used to be the driving force, with many relocating here for job purposes, Brexit has put a pause to that.
“They have been increasingly replaced by Americans, spurred by the strength of the dollar and potentially influenced by political events at home,” Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons, said.