The number of foreign investors owning UK property has surged since the financial crisis to top two million for the first time, new figures show.
There has been a 40% rise in the number of foreigners buying British homes in the past five years, according to research by accountancy UHY Hacker Young, using HM Revenue & Customs data.
The most recent figures, based on the 2011/2012 tax year, showed the number of new overseas buyers in the UK rising by 110,000 in one year alone.
That pushed up the number of investors by 6% from 1.93 million to 2.04 million.
UHY Hacker Young predicted that demand could fall next year, partly due to Chancellor George Osborne's recent decision to charge capital gains tax on foreign investors from April 2015.
Wealthy foreigners have poured money into London property, drawn by its safe haven status and the weakness of the pound.
The trend has become politically controversial, as prices spiral beyond the pockets of people who live and work in the capital.
Mark Giddens, of UHY Hacker Young, said: "UK property is seen globally as a safe haven from the effects of a financial crash or from national governments’ interference in the assets of private individuals.
“That has driven fierce demand for prime property in London and the South East in particular.”
The so-called "oligarch tax" could slow the flow of foreign investors, Giddens said: “While the Treasury has already increased its tax take on foreign-owned properties in recent years, from £230 million in 2007 to £379 million last year, it is now looking to ensure that it gets an even greater share of the substantial revenue generated by London’s high end property market."
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