- There are some 670,000 homes in Britain with a price tag of at least £1million
- Savills data found number of property millionaires fell by 8.3 per cent in a year
Some of Britain’s newly-minted property millionaires have lost their £1million home-owning status, according to a leading estate agent.
The number of £1million-plus homes in Britain peaked during the pandemic property boom, but has now slipped back after the race for space fizzled out and higher mortgage rates hit the market.
Savills said that at the end of 2023 there were an estimated 670,000 homes across Britain with a price tag of at least £1million, down 60,260 – or 8.3 per cent – on the year before.
However, this is still up 28 per cent – at an increase of 146,490 – compared to 2019, with most of the movement concentrated beyond the capital.
Britain’s £1million home market now stands at £1.32trillion, down from £1.43trillion in 2022, the estate agent said.
Lucian Cook, of Savills, explained: ‘The race for space and dash to the countryside from mid-2020 drove a sharp increase in the number of £1million homes outside of London and other urban settings.
‘However, increased mortgage costs and a rebalancing of demand back to city living have meant about 30 per cent of the those whose homes crossed the £1million threshold, have, for the time being at least, become aspiring million pound homeowners once again.’
London saw the smallest decrease in property millionaires last year – with a drop of 4 per cent, followed by Scotland, which was down 5 per cent.
Areas outside of London saw the most significant drop in property millionaires. But the number of £1million homes outside of London still remains 52 per cent higher than 2019.
Wales has seen an increase of 113 per cent, while the North East – where numbers are up 79 per cent -and the East Midlands – up 79 per cent – have seen the most significant uplift in housing stock valued at £1million or more over that period.
It follows separate analysis of £1million-plus sales by TwentyCI last year, which revealed that London locations continue to dominate the £1million map.
The boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea, Westminster, Camden, Hammersmith & Fulham and Richmond-Upon-Thames had the highest percentage of sales that were above £1million in 2023.
Indeed, London locations made up eight of the top 10 local authorities, joined by Elmbridge and Mole Valley outside of London.
Mr Cook added: ‘New one million-pound hotspots popped up across the breadth of Britain in the wake of the pandemic, as affluent home buyers changed priorities in the search for more space.
‘However in 2023, prime property prices held up stronger in the capital than across the rest of the country – down 1.1 per cent verses down 4.8 per cent – meaning London boroughs have been more easily been able to hold on to their share of £1million property sales.’
A square in the heart of Londonwas recently named as Britain’s most expensive place to live.
Mayfair’s Grosvenor Square led the Halifax annual survey of the most expensive streets in Britain, with an average price tag of £20.35million.
Heading west to the borough of Kensington and Chelsea in fashionable Notting Hill, Clarendon Road took second spot with an average price tag just shy of the £20million mark, at £19.96million.
Making up the top three – and home to world-famous luxury shopping destination Harrods – was London’s Knightsbridge, where properties cost an average £19.95million.
If a home on one of London’ priciest streets is top of the Christmas list this year, deep pockets will be needed, with the average price tag now £14.5million.
