London will be seeing more of rich Iranians as they graced through the Big Ben country looking at real estate properties in the UK Capital’s prime districts as the sanctions against the country will be lifted by next year. Several Iranians have been reportedly inquiring London real estate agents about homes in the £2m to £5m bracket, according to the Daily Star.
“They want to understand the market as soon as possible for when they are allowed to invest abroad,” according to Faisal Durrani, head of research at Cluttons, the property consultants and estate agents. "They want an asset that isn’t in the [Middle Eastern] region, and they are drawn by the strong capital values and the growth story.”
“Some of them are concerned about the government changing direction in a few years’ time, and that sanctions could return. It’s a form of insurance policy, an international bolt hole,” he added.
In addition to wealthy Iranians buying lavish properties in London, some are also looking into renting ahead before buying in the coming year.
The people of Iran has been finding it hard to buy properties overseas due to the sanctions regime. These are imposed on Iran by the United Nations, United States of America and European Union in 1970s due to its non-compliance with the safeguards agreement of the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors. Accordingly, the country’s sanctions have been the toughest ones that the world has ever imposed on one nation.
On July 20, 2015, the United Nation Security Council Resolution 2231 was passed. This sets out a schedule for suspending the said sanctions by the UN and eventually lifting them, if the country continues to do good. However, for nonperformance, the sanctions could be reimposed.
With the reports circling in November that demand slows down for expensive properties in London, this could be a good news for the real estate agencies.
Will these rich Iranians that are looking to invest in real properties help the downward slope of demand for expensive properties in London?