During the first quarter of 2013 the market saw a 19.1% increase, compared to the same quarter in 2012, in the number of properties for sale at over £500,000.
The increase was led mainly by London and the West Midlands, each seeing around 26% increase in homes falling into the highest price band.
The analysis, which offers an insight into the UK housing market to enable lenders to understand how consumers’ financial needs are changing, reveals that across the UK, the overall number of properties listed for sale were up by 13.0% compared with the last quarter of 2012 and by 9.7% from the first quarter of 2012.
This revival follows a period of decline with the number of properties marketed for sale falling by 4.0% in 2012.
Meanwhile the rental market after a strong year of growth in 2012 (increasing by 5.6% compared to 2011), began to stabilise at just 2.8% growth during the first three months of this year.
Despite the slowdown in growth, the rental market has seen an explosion in large properties with four or more bedrooms. During first quarter 2013, properties with four bedrooms or more increased by 17.2%.
Jonathan Westley, managing director of consumer information services at Experian UK & Ireland, said: “The uplift in more expensive houses coming onto the market for sale was seen in most parts of the country and not just in the London area as would have been expected.
“While it suggests a growing confidence among sellers who feel now is a better time to sell than this time last year, it does also highlight a need for a better understanding of homeowners, as some may in fact be experiencing financial pressures.
“Monitoring the changing face of the UK’s property market is essential for any financial services, utility or insurance company in order to really understand a person’s equity position for credit strategies.”
While properties for sale at over £500,000 increased across the UK, Wales and the North East were the only areas to see fewer properties falling into this price band – down 6.8% and 1.1% respectively, compared to the first quarter of 2012.
The number of properties valued between £250,000 and £500,000 also increased by 11.0% in the same period.
However the majority of homes for sale on the UK market in first quarter of 2013 were valued between £100,000 and £250,000, with 51.4% of properties for sale falling into this price bracket.
