Currency Counts: Big savings for international buyers as London continues to appeal

Overseas investors are bagging ginormous bargains on London property, as exchange rates effectively discount prices by up to 27%, according to the latest from Hamptons.

The average property price in prime central London breached £1.5m in 2013, hitting £1,543,102 at the end of November after "robust" but "unremarkable" annual growth of 12.

London is still the world's top financial centre, maintaining a clear 20 point lead from New York in second place, although there's ever more stiff competition from Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Zurich,…