Pandemic creates more £1m streets

THERE are nearly 1,800 more streets across Britain where the average home is valued at £1 million-plus compared with a year ago, analysis has found.

Some 11,673 streets in September 2021 had an average property price of £1m or more, which was 1,782 more than the 9,891 £1m streets in September 2020, Zoopla said.

In the East Midlands, there are 65 streets with a £1m-plus price tag. That compares to 4,544 in London and 205 in the West Midlands. The area with the lowest number was Wales with nine.

The South East of England accounts for about half of the increase, with 942 more £1m streets having been created there over the past year, compared with 262 in London. The total in the south East is now 4,366.

Elswhere in Britain, the South West England had 512 streets; North West England had 276, Scotland had 136 Yorkshire and the Humber had 55 and North East England had 41.

The tapering of a stamp duty holiday in the summer prompted a rush of buyers snapping up homes. The holiday ended completely from October 1.

Many people have also been searching for bigger properties with more space as they make lifestyle changes as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Grainne Gilmore, head of research at Zoopla, said: “London comes top when it comes to the UK’s prime markets, but the wider commuter zone in the South East is also home to some of the highest-value addresses, reflecting the size and type of housing stock in these regions.”

For the 13th year in a row, Kensington Palace Gardens in London was identified as Britain’s most expensive street, with homes there priced at nearly £29.9 million on average. Excluding London, Titlarks Hill in Ascot, Berkshire, was identified as the most expensive street in Britain, with the average home there put at £8.4 million.