HOT PROPERTY

London-based Becky Fatemi sold £400million of prime property last year. Her client base? A competitive international set who covet homes that aren't even for sale yet

- MARK C. O'FLAHERTY

The traditional way of looking for a home in London involves deciding on an area you like, then strolling around its main streets and perusing the windows of the local estate agents. Or perhaps searching the usual websites and weekend supplements. But the kind of special homes that Becky Fatemi handles don't sell through such pedestrian channels. What Fatemi does in her role at UK Sotheby's International Realty is make connections. The Iranian-born, London-based property adviser is about lifestyles, not buildings.

“The way property is sold has changed, in the same way lifestyles have evolved over the last 25 years,” she tells me. “The demographic of who is buying has changed. It started out with Greeks and Iranians, then old English money, then South American, African and Nigerian, then Russian, then crypto money. It has culminated in people wanting to live in just four or five key cities, and they want safety, security, good healthcare, high ceilings, light, and often a branded residence.”