The number of property millionaires in London has soared by more than 10,000 in the last year alone, research has revealed.
Estate agents Savills said 342,949 residential properties in the capital sold for £1 million or more at the end of 2022 – up three per cent from the previous year.
The data, put together from a range of sources including HM Revenue and Customs, suggests almost one in 10 London homes is now worth £1 million or more.
Where has seen the biggest rise in £1 million homes?
Hillingdon saw a 95 per cent rise in seven-figure residences from 186 homes in 2019/20 up to 363 in 2021/22. The outer west London borough was followed by Redbridge, where the number of million-pound-plus homes rose 94 per cent to 449.
Sutton, in south London, saw an 86 per cent increase to 365 homes, while neighbouring Croydon had an 81 per cent increase, hitting 392 homes. The fifth biggest rise in property millionaires was in Kingston-upon-Thames, where the number rose 69 per cent from 512 to 863.
The boroughs with the biggest percentage increase in such homes were not the areas with the highest number of pricey properties. In fact, there were more £1 million homes in London’s two most expensive boroughs — Westminster, and Kensington and Chelsea — than in the entire north of England and Scotland combined.
Nonetheless, the number of million-pound properties in both the super prime London boroughs swelled by a third.
London boroughs with fewer than 200 sales of £1 million homes have been excluded from the data and table below. These are Barking & Dagenham, Bexley, the City of London, Newham and Waltham Forest.
Although London had the largest number of new £1 million homes, according to Savills, it was still the slowest growing region in percentage terms.
Wales saw a 26 per cent hike in seven-figure properties last year, while all regions outside the South East and East saw double-digit growth.
This meant that for the first time since the financial crisis of 2008, London had less than half of the UK’s million-pound homes.
What does £1 million buy you in London today?
Marc von Grundherr, managing director of estate agents Benham and Reeves, said the figures were likely to be more keenly celebrated outside the M25.
“Within the confines of the capital, such a price tag is unlikely to raise an eyebrow, let alone be classed as a phenomenon,” he said. “With London home to almost half of the nation’s £1 million property stock, these latest figures won’t send any shock waves reverberating across the market.
“Regardless of which borough you head to, finding a £1 million home is a certainty,” added Von Grundherr. “While it may snare you a reasonably sized semi in some peripheral boroughs, the reality across inner London, in particular, is that £1 million will see you limited to a flat, or a terraced home at a push."
Two properties illustrate the disparity in the capital’s property market at present.
In Chelsea, estate agent Russell Simpson is marketing a one-bedroom apartment for £1m.
Close to the river, and walking distance to the King’s Road, the flat has a private courtyard entrance but has a total floor space of just 85sq m.
Meanwhile, just a few miles to the north-west, in Acton, Leslie & Co is selling a seven-bed, four-bathroom semi-detached house with driveway and garden for the same price.
Said by the agents to be just “moments” from the “vibrant cafe culture” of Churchfield Road, this property has an extensive garden and plenty of potential to extend the current floor space of 211sq m.
Savills head of residential research Lucian Cook said the number of seven-figure properties had shot up across the UK since late 2019 “as a consequence of a booming post-lockdown property market” fuelled by buyers “placing a greater value than ever on their home and lifestyle”.
“While we expect the top end of the market to be less affected by higher interest rates and cost-of-living pressures than the mainstream, it is not entirely immune to them,” Cook added. “This suggests 2022 will represent a high water market for £1m+ homes for a few years at least.”
