However, million pound properties still accounted for just 0.6% of all property sales in 2007. Last year, 8,257 million pound properties were sold across Great Britain, up from the 6,057 sales in 2006.
Scotland delivered the fastest growth rate in million pound property sales over the past year, rising by 138% from 144 sales in 2006 to 343 in 2007. The North East, at 136%, recorded the second highest rate of growth, followed by the East Midlands (111%). At the other end of the scale, London recorded the slowest rate of growth (25%) despite recording the largest increase in the number sales of the past year, followed by the East of England (30%).
London, with 4,407 sales, recorded the largest number of million pound properties sold in 2007, making up 53% of all million pound property sales in Great Britain. The South East had the second highest number of sales (1,998) followed by the East of England (577). Together London and the South East accounted for 78% of the total number of million pound properties sold last year.
Gordon Edwards, managing director at Halifax Estate Agents, commented: "Although there has been a marked increase in the number of million pound property sales over the past decade, a small number of local authority areas in London continue to account for the significant majority of £1 million sales.
"Nonetheless, London's share of all million pound property sales has declined over the past ten years, with a number of million pound property clusters appearing in the South East around places like Elmbridge and South Buckinghamshire."
