The number of properties in the UK sold for more than £1 million has soared in the past decade, new figures show.
Data from Lloyds Private Banking shows that the number of homes that sold for more than a million pounds in 2017 increased by 5 per cent compared to 2016. Over the past decade there has been an astonishing increase of 73 per cent in £1 million pound plus properties.
“Overall, 2017 was slow for the UK economy, with high inflation and low wage growth,” said Louise Santaana, head of UK wealth lending at Lloyds Banking Group. “But high-end homeowners and investors in many parts of Great Britain are starting to regain their confidence in the market, with exceptional growth seen in Yorkshire and The Humber and the North West of England.
“As always, the highest number of transactions took place in the capital last year, however growth in London has started to slow for million-pound properties,” Santaana continued. “Overseas investors represent a good share of this end of the London market although some may be holding off buying, pending further clarity over Brexit,” she added.
Indeed, the figures show that more than half (57 per cent) of all £1 million property sales took place in London last year. However, the number of transactions in the capital only increased by 1 per cent year on year, whereas those in Yorkshire and the Humber rose by 60 per cent in the same period.
Similarly, sales in the North West were up by 46 per cent compared to 2016, and they increased by 28 per cent in the West Midlands.
The only area in which million-pound home sales fell last year was the East Midlands, where sales were down by 23 per cent.
Article published 8th May 2018