Overall the figures show that 12,168 properties worth more than £1m have now been sold in England and Wales since 1995.
The research, which looked at house sales across the 377 local authority districts of England and Wales, found that, unsurprisingly, London has dominated the sales of £1m properties with the boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea, City of Westminster and Camden making up 45% of all £1m plus sales since 1995.
To reinforce the fact that 2003 has been dubbed the 'Year of the North', the figures also highlight the very rapid increase in the number of million pound properties sold in the north during the past 18 months, albeit from a very low base.
Key findings:
£1m property sales slow for first time since 1995
Sales of million pound properties in the first half of 2003 were 3% down on the corresponding period in 2002 (1,181 million pound properties were sold in the first six months of 2003 compared to 1,212 properties in the first six months of 2002). Despite this slight slowdown, 11 of the top 20 districts (as measured by £1 million sales) in the first half of 2003 recorded an actual increase in the number of £1m properties compared to a year ago. Camden, Richmond upon Thames and South Bucks all saw more than 20 properties worth more than £1m sold in the first six months of this year.
Since 1995, just over 12,000 properties valued at over £1 million have been sold in England and Wales (12,168). In 1995 there were only 232 properties sold for over £1 million - by 2002 this figure had risen to 3,174. A further 1,181 million pound properties were sold in the first six months of 2003.
The £1 million ripple spreads north.
The rapid increase in house prices experienced by the North during the last 18 months has impacted the sale of million pound properties. Although the increase in the number of million pound properties is measured from a low base, regionally, it was Yorkshire and the Humber which saw the largest percentage increase in sales of £1m properties recording a 250% increase (from two property sales to seven). The West Midlands saw a 183% increase in sales on the corresponding period in 2002 - going up from six transactions to 17.
Greater London was the only region to record an actual drop in the number of £1m properties, with sales down 17% on the corresponding period in 2002. There were 703 million pound properties sold in London during the first six months of 2003, compared to 850 in the first half of 2002.
Nine districts see their first £1m property sales during 2003
During the first half of 2003 nine local authority districts have seen their first million pound property sales. The local authority districts of 'Castle Morpeth' in Northumberland, 'Dartford', 'South Kesteven' in Lincolnshire, 'Penrith' in Cumbria, Rutland, Chester, North East Derbyshire and Oldham all recorded their first £1m plus sale during the first six months of the year.
The top end of the property market in 'North Kesteven' was particularly active. The area not only recorded its first million pound property sale earlier this year — it actually recorded three £1m plus property sales!
All but 105 local authority districts have now experienced million pound property sales
Since 1995, £1m plus properties have now been sold in 272 out of the 377 local authority districts. In the first half of 2003 there were sales of at least one £1m property in 145 local authority districts, with sales of more than one £1m home in 94 of these areas.
Since 1995 the two London districts of 'Kensington & Chelsea' (3,077 sales) and the 'City of Westminster' (1,841 sales) have consistently topped the £1m plus sales table by a wide margin.
Outside London and the South East it is the local authority areas of Poole (89 sales), Epping Forest (58 sales), Three Rivers (57 sales), Hertsmere (55 sales), East Hertfordshire (51 sales), Trafford (45 sales) and Macclesfield (44 sales) which have recorded the greatest number of £1m plus transactions.
Halifax group economist Martin Ellis said:
"Although million pound properties still represent a very small part of the overall housing market the general rise in house prices over the past few years has had a knock on effect on properties at the top end of the scale. The million pound 'ripple effect' is now reaching the north of England highlighting the fact that 2003 is undoubtedly the 'year of the North'."
