Company News 001 | SJW Founder Sally Wang Appears on Property TV’sProperty Question Time

Author: SJW Research Intelligence

Brand: SJW UK Properties

We were invited onto a UK property broadcast

We are pleased to share some news with our clients and friends. On 17 July 2026, Sally Wang, founder of SJW UK Properties, was invited to take part in the recording of Property Question Time, the specialist property programme broadcast on Property TV. She appeared alongside David Galman, property consultant and formerly a director of Galliard Homes, answering questions put to the panel by UK developers and an industry audience.

Property Question Time is broadcast on London TV, on Freeview channel 8 and Freely channel 8, every Wednesday at 7pm. It is a professional question-and-answer programme aimed at UK developers, investors and practitioners. Being able to represent the overseas buyer and answer the questions the industry cares about most, on a mainstream UK property programme, means a great deal to us.

The first question: are Asia-Pacific buyers investors or owner-occupiers?

This is one of the questions we are asked most often in UK industry discussions, and it was the first one the programme put to us.

We began by setting out a simple fact: there is no precise or comprehensive set of official data showing the exact split between investors and owner-occupiers among overseas buyers. The research the industry still routinely cites was published in 2016, close to ten years ago, and suggested that approximately 70% to 85% of overseas buyers of London new-build homes were buy-to-let investors.

Based on the market reports published since 2024, and on what we ourselves see every day in more than a decade of working directly with clients, that balance has largely reversed. Our estimate, as we gave it on the programme, is that around 70% to 75% of buyers today are buying to live, rather than buying purely to let.

What we actually see: let first, then a child at university, then home

On the programme we described a category that reflects our real client base more closely: the hybrid buyer.

For a great many of the Asia-Pacific families we work with, the motivation has never been a single one. They may let the property out initially, use it a few years later for a child studying in London, and eventually move into it themselves. For these families, the line between investment and owner-occupation is simply not a clear one.

Precisely because the property is not purely an investment product, these clients are noticeably less sensitive to rising mortgage rates or a temporary fall in rental returns. They are unlikely to buy or sell abruptly on the strength of one market movement. Their commitment is more stable and their horizon considerably longer.

As we put it on the programme: ten years ago, many overseas buyers were buying an investment in London. Today, increasingly, they are buying a future in London.

The second question: six apartments in Central London, and what will attract

overseas purchasers

The second question came from a developer about to start a small scheme of six apartments in Central London: in the current market, which property features are most likely to appeal to overseas purchasers?

Our answer started from a premise. Overseas buyers today are far more practical, and far more sophisticated, than they were ten years ago. They are no longer paying for something that merely appears luxurious. They want a property that is easy to own, easy to manage, attractive to tenants, and potentially suitable for themselves or their family in the future.

On the product itself, location still comes first, and not only the postcode. It means transport connections, safety, and proximity to universities, employment centres, shops and restaurants.

Within the apartments, we would ask a developer to concentrate on an efficient layout, good natural light, adequate storage, high-quality kitchens and bathrooms, good sound insulation, energy efficiency and effective temperature control. Air conditioning, or at least a proper cooling system, matters more and more to international purchasers, and a balcony or private outside space can add considerable value.

Our advice to developers: not more facilities, but fewer problems

What we emphasised most throughout that answer was the cost of ownership, and whether owning the property is straightforward in the first place.

Buyers today look very carefully at the service charge, the lease terms, the building warranty and the quality of the management company. These were once treated as transactional details. They are now central to the decision.

For a development of only six apartments, our advice was unambiguous: do not try to imitate a large luxury scheme. An expensive swimming pool, a gym or a twenty-four-hour concierge may sound attractive, but they create running costs that are wholly disproportionate to a scheme of this size, and it is the owners who carry them for years afterwards.

We would put the budget instead into secure access, a lift where practical, bicycle and private storage, excellent digital connectivity, and a genuinely reliable local management service.

This was the most direct line we gave on the programme: overseas purchasers do not necessarily need more facilities. They need fewer problems.

SJW Insight

The two questions the programme returned to point to the same underlying shift: overseas buyers in the UK property market are moving from being investors to being occupiers.

When a property has to work as a rental, then as a home for a child at university, and eventually as the family’s own residence, what the client cares about naturally moves away from yield and towards whether the place is comfortable to live in and straightforward to hold. This is the tren we have felt most strongly across our years of serving these families.

It is also why we accepted the invitation. Overseas buyers have long been discussed in this market without often being given the chance to speak for themselves. Explaining how Chinese and Asia-Pacific families genuinely think about buying, directly to UK developers and practitioners, is work we consider worth doing.

We will continue to bring what we see on the ground both to our clients and to the wider industry.

Broadcast details

Programme: Property Question Time, Property TV

Channel: London TV — Freeview ch.8 and Freely ch.8

Time: Every Wednesday at 7pm

Recorded: 17 July 2026

Panel: Sally Wang (Founder, SJW UK Properties) and David Galman (Property consultant, formerly Director of Galliard Homes)

Last updated: August 2026

Disclaimer: This article is based on the practical experience SJW UK Properties has gained from serving clients over many years, together with publicly available information. It is provided for general reference only and does not constitute legal, tax, financial or investment advice. The percentages quoted are informed market estimates and are not official statistics.