Wealthy Americans Buy Up London Mansions Amid Price Slump

Newsweek

2 days ago

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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Wealthy Americans are taking advantage of the ongoing slump in London's luxury home market to snap up properties in the city for a significantly lower price than these mansions would have fetched a few years ago.
According to data from Beauchamp Estates, a luxury real-estate agent in the U.K. capital, U.S. nationals accounted for 25 percent of prime purchases in the city last year, up from 18 percent in 2023.
In the first six months of the year, American and Middle Eastern buyers together were behind 50 percent of all high-value transactions in London, up from 45 percent in 2024, which include deals totaling more than £15 million ($20 million).
Swimming Against the Tide
American buyers are flocking to the London luxury home market at the same time as many so-called non-doms—U.K. residents whose permanent home, for tax purposes, is outside the U.K.—are leaving the capital.
The Labour government, which has led the U.K. since last year's general elections, has announced plans to abolish the non-dom tax status. Under current laws, non-doms pay taxes in the U.K. only on the money they earn in the country. They do not pay taxes made anywhere else in the world.
This offers an incredible advantage to wealthy individuals who can choose to pay duties in states with lower taxes than the U.K. while effectively still living in the U.K. According to the latest data by the country's HM Revenue & Customs, some 74,000 people claimed non-dom status in 2022-2023.
A general view of large residential town houses in Green Street, Mayfair, in London on January 9.
A general view of large residential town houses in Green Street, Mayfair, in London on January 9.Under changes announced by the British government, the non-dom status would be abolished and replaced with a residence-based regime. Non-doms living in the U.K. have been given a three-year period of transition to bring their foreign wealth onshore.
Non-doms' recent exodus from the U.K. has caused London's luxury home market to wobble, with sales and prices falling in recent months. According to Beauchamp Estates, there has been a 13 percent drop in the number of deals for the sale of $20 million-plus homes in the capital between January and June compared to a year earlier.
The company said 70 percent of the vendors of these high-end homes were non-doms moving overseas to places such as Miami, Dubai, Milan and Monaco.
"The top of the market has lost momentum—and much of that comes down to the government's stance on non-doms," Becky Fatemi, the executive partner at Sotheby's International Realty U.K., told Newsweek.
"The message couldn't be clearer: International wealth isn't as welcome as it once was. Predictably, some of the biggest global buyers have backed off, pulling out of deals or funneling their money into more tax-friendly markets like Italy, Monaco, and Dubai," she added.
That's left a noticeable hole in the high-end home market. "Trophy homes that once sparked bidding wars are now sitting—not because the appetite has vanished completely, but because buyers are more selective, price-sensitive, and wary," Fatemi said. "Deals are still happening, but they're slower, tougher, and take serious effort to get over the line. Behind every sale, there's a lot heavier lifting."
But as the superrich leave London and slash prices on the properties they are leaving behind to attract new buyers, wealthy individuals who previously could not have afforded these luxury homes are finally swooping in—including many Americans.
Why Are Wealthy Americans Seeking Properties in London?
"Americans were never eligible for non-dom perks—the IRS taxes them globally, wherever they live—so the U.K.'s reforms are largely irrelevant," Fatemi said.
"While other international buyers reassess, Americans are charging in. With Trump back in the White House, we're seeing a spike in U.S. clients who want out—not just for political reasons, but for lifestyle ones, too," she added.
"London offers everything they want: relative stability, culture, top schools, and prime property that still looks like a bargain thanks to the strong dollar. These aren't speculative purchases; they're buying real homes, with real intent," Fatemi said.
The London properties that wealthy Americans are buying are concentrated in some of the most expensive and exclusive neighborhoods in the city—such as Chelsea, Mayfair, Kensington, Notting Hill, Belgravia, St. John's Wood and Hampstead—according to data from Beauchamp Estates. They include homes averaging 9,230 square feet and apartments spreading over an average 5,397 square feet—notably bigger properties than those purchased in 2024.
For Beauchamp Estates, this means that buyers are looking at these homes as primary residences "with lateral space and long-term livability."
Rising living costs and growing crime rates in the U.S., combined with political uncertainty and tax-driven wealth increases, are behind the surge in interest for London's luxury homes among American buyers, according to Beauchamp Estates.
Even with a softer dollar, "the pound is still weak compared to pre-Brexit days, and prime prices haven't rebounded to 2014 levels, so there's value on the table" for American homebuyers, Fatemi said.
"But the bigger driver is mindset. When someone's ready to leave the U.S.—for politics, lifestyle, or a sense of security—they're not waiting for the perfect exchange rate. They want somewhere livable, stable, and globally connected. London ticks every box," she said. "Currency helps, but it's not the full story. What we're seeing is a deeper, more personal shift, and it's not going anywhere."