The "buy-to-leave" phenomenon in housing has come into question after a report commissioned by the Mayor of London found that almost no homes in London owned by overseas buyers are being left empty.

The research, by the London School of Economics, found that "there was almost no evidence of [new-build] units being left entirely empty - certainly less than 1pc".

Mayor Sadiq Khan campaigned on the issue of foreign ownership during his election campaign, arguing that developers should give Londoners "first dibs" on homes. The LSE report is one of the first investigations into foreign investment into London property, which has been blamed by some campaigners for exacerbating the capital's housing crisis.

A separate report by the University of York found that between April 2014 and March 2016 an average of 13pc of all new-build residential properties in London were bought by overseas buyers. This was based on completions, which may have been sold up to three years previously. In 2016, the level jumped to 17.9pc, which were "pre-sold during that peak period in 2012-14", said Neal Hudson of Resi Analysts.