Thanks to house prices increasing across England and Wales a new study has now found that more houses with a value of £1m+ are being sold, not only in London but also outside of the capital.
Mortgage broker Private Finance analysed data from the Land Registry and found that the number of property transactions for homes worth £1m+ has increased by 119% between 2011 and 2016 in England and Wales.
Hertfordshire, Surrey, Kent and Essex have seen the biggest increase in big budget home sales and forecasts revealed that 50% of property sales valued at £1 million or more will happen outside of London in 2017.
The study came as a surprise as the top end of the market experienced a bit of a cool down after changes were made to stamp duty regulations during 2014 and 2016. However, due to ever increasing house prices sales transactions for properties worth £1m+ still rose by 10% between 2015 and 2016.
The fact that more £1m homes were sold in Hertfordshire, Kent, Essex and Surrey underlines figures showing a fast house prices growth in areas such as the South West, England’s East, the South East, East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber than London.
Million pounds away from home? Prime property sales outperform rest of the UK’s housing market
And with prices continuing to grow in London, families are now often unable to afford a home in the capital. This leads them to look further and branch out slightly. As a result areas such as Kent and Essex are becoming more attractive, especially considering they’re still commutable to the big smoke.
Shaun Church is the director at Private Finance and commented the company’s study:
“Buying a million pound plus property is a significant financial commitment, and with increasing numbers of buyers falling into this category, borrowers may need to look to private banks and brokers to ensure they are able to access appropriate mortgage finance.”
