Yahoo Finance UK hotspots for properties worth over £1m
London remained the most prominent property market for homes sold for £1m ($1.4m) or more, accounting for 58% of all transactions above the threshold in the last 12 months, new data revealed.
Estate agent Keller Williams UK analysed sold price records from the Land Registry over the last 12 months and found that 16 of the top 20 local authorities to have seen the most £1m-plus property transactions are located in the capital.
It also said a total of 12,251 homes have sold for £1m or more in that time, with an average price tag of £1.33m.
Wales and the North East were home to just 0.2% of homes to sell for £1m or more in the last year; the lowest of all regions in England and Wales.
While the Yorkshire and Humber region accounted for just 1% of all transactions above £1m, it was home to the highest average sold price of £1.54m.
At 23% the South East accounted for more £1m+ property sales over the last year than all the other regions combined.
At £1.5m, the North West also saw one of the highest average sold prices for homes selling at £1m or more.
Meanwhile, Westminster in London saw the highest level of homes sold for £1m or more of all local authorities in England and Wales.
876 such transactions were completed in the borough over the last year, with Kensington and Chelsea not far behind with 753 transactions.
Elmbridge came in number nine on the list, with highest total outside of London (327 transactions).
Wandsworth (708), Hammersmith and Fulham (530) and Camden (502) also saw some of the largest numbers of homes sold at £1m or more.
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CEO of Keller Williams UK, Ben Taylor, noted that “the higher tiers of the housing market have arguably suffered most due to COVID-19 uncertainty and activity hasn’t been boosted to the same extent as a result of the current stamp duty holiday.”
“That said, it’s reassuring to see that a robust number of transactions have still taken place despite the turbulence of the last year and this is a foundation that will no doubt be built on in 2021,” he added.
Earlier it was reported that UK house price growth slowed for the first month in six in January, as the market cooled down ahead of the end of the stamp duty holiday, which runs out in March.
According to Nationwide’s monthly house price index released on Tuesday morning, annual house price growth slowed to 6.4%, from 7.3% in December.
Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist noted that you would expect housing market activity to weaken months ahead of the stamp duty discount because it can take several months to buy a house, and therefore many looking to buy now will miss out.
“The typical relationship between the housing market and broader economic trends has broken down over the past nine months,” Gardner said. “This is because many people’s housing needs have changed as a direct result of the pandemic, with many opting to move to less densely populated locations or property types, despite the sharp economic slowdown and the uncertain outlook.
“Indeed, the total number of mortgages approved for house purchases in 2020 actually exceeded the number approved in 2019, and house price growth ended 2020 at a six-year.”
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