Tax changes have stemmed the flow of overseas house hunters seeking a buy-to-let property or second home in the last five years.
Hamptons reports that in contrast to those relocating, numbers have fallen by more than a third, from 30% in 2019 to 19% in the first quarter of 2025.
International buyers now pay a 7% surcharge on all second home purchases, while the end of the stamp duty holiday in April brings their bill to £113,750 for a million-pound second home - an effective tax rate of 11%.
Hamptons said the combined effects of Brexit and the pandemic have also dampened international buyer interest.
Overseas-based applicants registering with an estate agent made up 2% of all house hunters across Britain in 2015, but by the first quarter of 2025, this had halved to 1%, the lowest proportion since its records began in 2008.
Prime Central London has traditionally been the heartland of international buyers, but overseas applicants there fell to the lowest share on record, making up 2.9% of all house hunters in the first quarter of 2025, down from 4% in 2024.
Meanwhile, one in ten were seeking a property in the North of England, up from 5% a decade ago.
The general decline has been predominantly driven by fewer Europeans relocating.
In 2008, they accounted for 48% of overseas house hunters but this has fallen to 43%.
However, applicants from North America accounted for a record 16% of all international buyers while demand from Middle Eastern buyers made up 14%, marking a new high.
Aneisha Beveridge, of Hamptons, said: “The case for buying a home, particularly in Prime Central London, has become increasingly tenuous for some international buyers.
“For those immigrating for an undetermined period, the cost of buying property and the prospect of little or no capital growth, as seen over the last decade in Prime Central London, have led many to opt for renting instead.”
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