The first half of 2019 saw a surge in the number of homes bought for £1million or more, according to a story published by the Consumer Association’s Which? magazine recently.
Almost 7,000 of homes in this so-called prime property market were sold in the first six months of 2019 – an annual increase of some 5%.
The latest surge saw a reversal of current trends, which marked a decline in high-value properties in London and the southeast but a notable increase in the East and West Midlands.
Although London continues to count for around a half of all property transactions of £1million or more, the capital saw a decline of 186 properties in the total number of sales. Combined sales in the East and West Midlands, on the other hand, reached a total of 181 high-value properties.
The key prime property market hotspots in London are the boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea (with a recorded 477 sales of £1million+ properties), Westminster (431) and Wandsworth (300).
London is also the place where the ten most expensive homes in the country are to be found – an 8-bedroom townhouse in St James Park for £55million, for example, or £40million for a mansion in Highgate.
Unsurprisingly, though, your £1million is likely to go a lot further when buying a property outside the capital – where that sum is a relatively modest price to pay. In the East or West Midlands, on the other hand, a million pounds might buy you a sprawling 9-bedroom detached house near Birmingham or a farmhouse and all of its farmland at Hampton-in-Arden.
