From London to Lagos: How global property demand is shifting

London’s reset: From trophy assets to value scrutiny

London remains a global anchor, but demand has become more selective. Higher financing costs and a broader repricing of risk have pushed buyers to interrogate fundamentals: rental resilience, energy performance, and refurbishment needs now matter as much as postcode prestige. Prime assets still attract international capital, yet the bidding environment is less exuberant and more forensic, with discounts sought for capex-heavy buildings. At the same time, domestic demand is shaped by affordability pressures, nudging activity toward outer zones and commuter towns where price-to-income ratios look less stretched.

A multipolar world of real estate capital

Global property demand is increasingly multipolar: capital no longer flows predominantly into a handful of Western gateways. Instead, buyers assemble portfolios across regions to balance currency exposure, political risk, and growth potential. Cross-border demand is also fragmenting by purpose some buyers pursue stable income, others seek development upside, and many prioritize optionality such as residency access or education pathways. This shifts the market from a single “global cycle” to overlapping micro-cycles, where different cities peak and cool at different times.

What higher rates changed: Yield discipline and smaller deals

The post-ultra-low-rate era has changed buyer behavior everywhere. As borrowing costs rose, pricing began to reflect the real trade-off between bonds and buildings. Investors respond with yield discipline: they demand clearer income visibility, stronger covenants, and more conservative leverage. Deal sizes often shrink, syndicates become more common, and buyers pivot toward assets that can reprice quickly, such as multi-family rentals rather than long-duration bets that depend on aggressive capital appreciation.

Remote work and lifestyle migration reshape demand maps

Remote and hybrid work have softened the monopoly of central business districts and expanded the set of “livable” locations for knowledge workers. This is visible in the resurgence of smaller cities, coastal towns, and mixed-use neighborhoods built around walkability rather than commuting. Demand now often follows amenity clusters, such as schools, healthcare, green space, and cultural life, more than proximity to a single office address. For investors, this creates new winners in places with underbuilt housing supply and strong quality-of-life pull factors.

Africa’s urban surge and the Lagos effect

Lagos sits at the intersection of powerful structural forces: rapid urbanization, a youthful population, and a growing services economy. Housing demand is amplified by internal migration and household formation, while land constraints and infrastructure bottlenecks can tighten supply. The result is a market where price signals can be volatile, yet the underlying need is persistent. For many buyers, local professionals, diaspora families, and regional entrepreneurs, real estate functions as both shelter and store of value, particularly when alternative savings vehicles feel less reliable.

Diaspora capital: The bridge between London and Lagos

Diaspora buyers increasingly connect mature markets with high-growth cities. Earnings in London, Manchester, Toronto, or Houston can be deployed into Lagos for family housing, rental income, or land banking. This flow is strengthened by digital property marketing, cross-border payment rails, and social networks that share deal intelligence. Yet it also raises expectations: diaspora buyers often demand clearer documentation, better build quality, and more transparent property management, pressuring developers to professionalize and differentiate.

Formalization and trust: Title, data, and governance as demand drivers

In emerging markets, demand is not only a function of income growth; it hinges on trust infrastructure. Clear land titling, predictable permitting, enforceable contracts, and reliable transaction data can unlock liquidity and lower risk premiums. Where registries improve and processes digitize, buyers gain confidence to move from informal arrangements to bankable assets. Conversely, uncertainty around title or zoning can keep prices fragmented and deter institutional participation, limiting the scale and stability of investment.

Build-to-rent and attainable housing: A new institutional focus

Across continents, rental housing has become a core theme. In expensive cities, households rent longer; in fast-growing metros, renters need professionally managed stock close to jobs. This fuels interest in build-to-rent, student housing, and workforce apartments, segments where operations matter as much as location. Institutional capital is also gravitating toward “attainable” housing because demand is deep and relatively non-discretionary, even when economic growth slows.

Climate risk and energy standards move from footnote to pricing lever

Climate exposure and energy performance are now central to valuation. In London and other regulated markets, efficiency standards can dictate what is rentable and financeable, making retrofit plans a prerequisite for liquidity. In coastal and flood-prone regions, physical risk affects insurance costs and buyer appetite. In cities like Lagos, resilience can mean different things: heat management, drainage, power reliability, and water security, but the pricing logic is similar: buildings that reduce operating uncertainty become more desirable, and those that amplify it face widening discounts.

How buyers compare markets now: A practical checklist

As demand spreads beyond traditional gateways, buyers use clearer frameworks to compare very different markets. The most common filters blend macro stability with asset-level realities:

This checklist helps explain why some investors still pay a premium for London’s predictability, while others accept Lagos’s complexity for the chance to ride demographic growth and structural housing need.