Surge in £1 million houses sold - Belfast Telegraph

The number of homes sold for more than 1 million increased at its fastest rate for four years during 2010 as the top end of the property market bounced back, research has indicated.

A total of 7,185 properties changed hands for a seven-figure sum during the year, 54% more than in 2009 and the biggest annual increase since 2006, according to Lloyds TSB.

But despite the increase, sales of homes for 1 million or more are still 13% below the level they reached in 2007, before the financial crisis struck.

The group estimates that there are now around 184,000 homes in Great Britain that are worth at least 1 million.

The resurgence in sales of 1 million-plus homes has significantly outstripped the rise in transactions for properties of all values, which edged ahead by just 6% during 2010, while there was a 1% fall in the number of homes worth 250,000 or less that changed hands.

However, despite the buoyancy at the top end of the market, sales of 1 million homes still accounted for just 1% of total transactions during the year.

Unsurprisingly, the majority of million-pound house sales were in London and the South East, with these regions accounting for 83% of those transactions in Great Britain last year.

However, the West Midlands saw the biggest increase in sales of top-end properties, with the number of 1 million homes sold more than doubling last year with a 109% rise. The East of England also saw an above average increase of 62%, while sales of seven-figure homes rose by 56% in London.

Other regions fared less well, with the number of homes in Wales that were sold for at least 1 million dropping by 25% during the year, and sales in the North East were 19% down.

Suren Thiru, Lloyds TSB housing economist, said: "A small number of areas in London still account for the lion's share of all 1 million sales, with housing market activity in such locations continuing to benefit from strong demand from wealthy international buyers and limited supply. In contrast, the level of activity across the wider housing market remains subdued."