Increasing numbers of smaller investors from Hong Kong have been active in the London property market over the past 12 months.
Alison Dean, of Savills estate agents, said about one-third of all buyers from Hong Kong included the self-employed, low ranking policemen, taxi drivers and teachers.
Traditionally, Hong Kong investors in London property have been tai pans, institutions and wealthy individuals.
But the investor profile is changing and growing numbers of returning expatriates are looking to buy homes.
These investors are targeting properties valued at about GBP150,000 (about HK$1.79 million) in areas bordering the prime residential districts of Kensington, Knightsbridge and Hampstead, which are the traditional stamping grounds of the territory's bigger players.
Favoured locations include areas on the edge of the City of London, principally the London Docklands, Rotherhithe, Islington and Waterloo.