£1m homes bonanza sweeps UK
SALES of homes costing £1million or more are soaring to record numbers across Britain, a survey has found.
Areas far from London and its traditional commuter belt are recording the biggest rises as the property boom pushes more houses into the top end of the market.
The number of properties which sold for at least seven figures in England and Wales rose by six per cent in 2017 to 19,100, according to Land Registry data.
The increase, fuelled by growing demand in regions where prices are traditionally lower, came despite a rise in stamp duty for more expensive properties.
The biggest annual increase in £1million-plus sales came in Yorkshire (40 per cent), followed by the North-west (36 per cent) and the West Midlands (19 per cent).
A total of 18 local authorities outside London recorded 100 or more such transactions in the last year, up from 14 in 2016.
Elmbridge in Surrey was the area which saw the biggest boom, where 22 per cent of homes sold for more than £1million.
The East of England saw annual house price growth of 5.2 per cent in 2017. And the most active prime markets were in St Albans, Epping Forest and Cambridge.
In the North-west, Cheshire East enjoyed a 38 per cent rise in £1million-plus sales compared to 2016.
Other areas with year-on-year rises included Cheltenham, North Hertfordshire and Birmingham. An increase in prime market activity has come alongside strong annual house price growth in each of these areas, up 8.1, 6.1 and 5.5 per cent respectively – a factor that will have helped push a number of properties over the £1million threshold.
Despite the growth in the regions, London still accounted for the majority of Britain’s million poundplus sales last year.
A huge 64 per cent of all properties sold in swish Kensington and Chelsea changed hands for sevenfigure sums, along with 51 per cent in Westminster. The two London boroughs were the only parts of England and Wales in which more than 50 per cent of properties sold for more than £1million.
Oliver Knight, of estate agents Knight Frank which analysed the figures, said: “The rise in £1million sales volumes in the past 12 months points to some relatively active prime markets across the country, even with higher stamp duty.
“And the pick-up in transactions hasn’t taken place in a uniform manner. The most notable rises came in markets outside of London and the traditional commuter zone.”