Nick Churton, based in the London office of Robert Paul Properties, reports on a real estate market awakening with a start in the UK capital.

There is excellent news for US-dollar buyers in London. They will now find the lowest real estate prices in the UK capital for many years. Average prices in central London have fallen by about 20 per cent since the last peak in 2014. With currency exchange factored in, dollar buyers today gain by about 38 per cent compared with five years ago.

All this comes at a time when there is a bounce in the step of property buyers in London. Since the decisive general election victory in December by Boris Johnson and his Conservative party, the uncertainty that had hung like a large gloomy cloud around the Brexit question has been lifted. The real estate community went from despair to delight in the course of a dramatic election night. Call it a Boris or Brexit bounce, but there was an immediate re-engagement in the real estate sector. That early interest continues unabated. Now pundits are even boldly forecasting a price rise of up to 10 per cent during 2020.

Highlighting this newfound excitement is the sale of a Knightsbridge mansion to a Chinese buyer for a reputed $365 million – making it the most expensive property sale in the UK. The purchase of this 60,000 sq. ft. home emphasises the attraction central London has for overseas buyers. This global destination for the wealthy of the wealthiest, attracted by commerce, fashion, culture, law, medicine, education and finance, is most certainly back in business.

London and the rest of the UK look forward to a spring property market with a big bounce in its step.