The new dwellings at the Battersea Power Station are to be offered to Londoners first before being made available to investors from overseas.
The building of residential properties at the former power station is entering its second phase.
The decision to offer ownership to Brits first was announced by the scheme’s developer, a Malaysian consortium which acquired the site for £400 million in 2012.
It is believed to be a result of increasing pressure on builders to give Londoners top priority in an effort to meet the housing shortage in the nation’s capital.
Overseas buyers have contributed significantly to the shortage, having bought about 70% of new-build homes across central London, according to Savills, and helping to stoke a 10% hike in prices last year which added to the resentment of locals trying to get a foot on the property ladder.
As part of the second phase, 254 apartments will be for sale in an exhibition that will be held only in London from May 1. The range goes from studio flats to five-bedroom penthouses.
Phase one of the development comprised 835 flats, of which just over half were sold to people from Malaysia, Russia and China.
The developer said the strategy of serving Brits first would help create a real and lasting community in Battersea. But there is a long way to go as the final goal is the completion of a total of 3,500 homes in the next 15 years.
