Russian buyers account for £190m in London market value in 2021

Russian residential property purchases contributed an estimated £190 million in market value and £13.2 million in stamp duty tax last year, according to figures from Benham and Reeves.

Some 82,305 residential property sales (Type A) took place across the London market last year to the tune of £55.7 billion in market value, while homebuyers paid around £3.7 billion in stamp duty tax.

In addition to these purchases, a further 13,016 transactions took place for extra purchases such as second homes and buy-to-let investments (Type B).

It’s speculated that approximately 30% of this market activity was attributed to international buyers, with Russian buyers accounting for 1% of all market activity.

This means that Russian buyers accounted for an estimated 247 primary residential property purchases across the London market in 2021, with a total market value of £167 million – paying just over £11 million in stamp duty tax in the process.

Benham and Reeves also estimates that Russian buyers accounted for approximately 39 Type B transactions at a market value of £22.8 million, paying £2.2 million in stamp duty tax at the higher rate for this type of purchase. 

In total, Benham and Reeves reckons that 286 London properties were sold to Russian buyers in 2021, sitting just shy of £190 million in market value and netting the government almost £13.3 million in stamp duty tax. 

Marc von Grundherr, director of Benham and Reeves, explains: “Russian activity has long contributed to the overall health of the London property market, with might of the Ruble traditionally prevalent within prime London neighbourhoods.”

“However, Russian buyer activity still only accounts for a very marginal proportion of market activity and so while the swift implementation of economic sanctions against Russia may have a knock-on effect here in the capital, they certainly won’t spur a market decline of any sorts.”

He adds: “In fact, while the expectation is that this segment of international buyers will now dwindle as assets are frozen and the Iron Curtain falls once again, the likelihood is that we may actually see an increase in Russian ownership.”

Table shows market data for Type A (primary residential purchases) property transactions in 2021