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Take housing costs into account in London and many places are better: http://i.imgur.com/mNsk5oD.jpg http://i.imgur.com/mNsk5oD.jpg

• fastball 10y ago
  That's what happens when you let your city become an investment vehicle.
  • cletus 10y ago
    The problem with London is not property investment per se. It's that property is essentially used for money laundering [1]. If you're a US tax resident or citizen then you're used to filling out onerous reporting documents (FBAR and possibly 8938 as well) on foreign assets. Real estate holdings has zero reporting requirements. [1] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/london-property-market-real-estate-money-laundering-overseas-foreign-buyers-mps-a7138176.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/london-prope...
    • elastic_church 10y ago
      Same in the US. The real estate industry lobbied for an exemption from AML/KYC reporting requirements. If you don't need a mortgage, then you show up with a cashier's check or briefcase full of cash, sign papers in the name of an LLC or Limited Company and now you have a house in the anonymous shell companies' name and clean money.
    • branchless 10y ago
      You get it. And yes: property speculation is not an investment. The UK allows washing through land only.