London districts for a foreign buyer: how they differ and what to look at

London is built not as one market but as several dozen local ones, and the difference between neighbouring districts can be larger than the difference between cities in another country. For a buyer from abroad it helps to understand at least the large blocks.

Prime Central London

Mayfair, Knightsbridge, Belgravia, Chelsea, Kensington — the historic expensive centre. International capital concentrates here, and the market behaves by its own logic, only loosely connected to the wider British one.

• Property type: flats in period buildings, townhouses, occasional new schemes.
• The buyer is international, which makes the segment more sensitive to tax and currency changes than to the local economy.
• Rental yield is low: the price outruns the rent.
• Liquidity depends on the cycle: in quiet periods expensive properties sell slowly.

West and north-west boroughs

Hampstead, St John's Wood, Notting Hill, Richmond — the family segment, with houses, gardens and, above all, schools. The school factor is what sets demand here: an address is tied to particular institutions, and that shows in the price.

The east and the riverside new build

Canary Wharf and the development along the Thames are a different product: modern towers with services, a concierge, a gym. They are bought for letting and for a predictable standard of housing.

• Yields are higher than in the historic centre.
• Supply is large and still growing — pressure on rents in some clusters.
• Service charges in new towers are high and must be deducted before concluding anything about yield.

What matters about the form of right

Most London flats are sold not as freehold but as leasehold — a long lease with a remaining term that may run from a few decades to several hundred years. A short remaining term devalues the property and makes extending it more expensive. That is the first thing to check in a British flat, and the second is the annual service charge.

What to look at when choosing

• The remaining lease term and the terms of extension.
• Service charges and planned major works on the building — they can arrive as a separate bill.
• Transport. The Elizabeth line noticeably changed the value of districts along it; travel time in London is currency.
• The school catchment, if the property is being bought for a family.
• Non-resident surcharges on stamp duty — they are substantial and are calculated in advance.