Prime London residential values fell by 5.2% between 2020 and 2024 as competing global cities attracted growing volumes of international capital, according to research from Global Citizen Solutions.
London was one of only two markets in the study of 10 major cities to record a decline, alongside New York.
Dubai delivered the strongest growth at 173.7%, followed by Tokyo at 65.5% and Athens at 62.4%.
The findings point to increasing competition for internationally mobile buyers, although London retains substantial global appeal and market depth.
LONDON REMAINS INTERNATIONAL
Global Citizen Solutions says buyers from more than 50 countries have accounted for 62% of central London property purchases since 2016, citing CBRE research.
Foreign-owned homes across England are reportedly worth £84.2 billion, with £43.9 billion located in London.
The research examines structural influences such as legal certainty, housing supply and market depth alongside policy-sensitive factors including taxation and investment migration programmes.
It highlights the abolition of non-domicile tax status, the non-resident stamp duty surcharge and more recent property tax measures as potential additional pressures.
However, London’s measured 2020–2024 decline preceded some of those changes, meaning they cannot explain the performance recorded across the study period.
DUBAI LEADS GLOBAL GROWTH
Dubai’s rise is linked to international demand, relatively light property taxation and an active Golden Visa programme. More than 4,600 homes valued above AED10 million reportedly changed hands during 2024.
Tokyo benefited from the weaker yen, while Athens also recorded strong growth alongside its investment migration offering.
Lisbon values increased by 16.4% between 2021 and 2024 despite Portugal closing the property route within its Golden Visa programme in 2023.
Gonçalo Peixoto, Head of Real Estate at Goldcrest, says: “The Golden Visa opened the door, but it’s Lisbon itself that’s kept people walking through it, and that bodes well for the market’s long-term strength.”
Liana Simonyan, researcher at the Global Intelligence Unit, says investment migration programmes amplify existing overseas demand rather than create it.
The briefing concludes that programme rules and reform timings can provide useful indicators of where globally mobile property capital may move next.
