Number of property millionaires has dropped from pandemic peak – claim

The total number of property millionaires fell last year as the ‘race for space’ reversed, research suggests.

Analysis by Savills has revealed an 8.3% annual drop in homes valued at £1m or more last year – taking the total to 670,100 - although is still up 28% compared with 2019.

Most of the movement concentrated beyond the capital, Savills said.

Britain’s £1m home market now stands at £1.32 trillion, down from £1.43 trillion in 2022, according to the research.
London saw the smallest decrease in property millionaires, down 4.0% on the year, followed by Scotland with a 5% decline.

Areas outside of London saw the most significant drop in property millionaires. But the number of £1m homes outside of London still remains 52% higher than 2019. Wales (113%), the North East (79%) and the East Midlands (79%) have seen the most significant uplift in housing stock valued at £1m or more over that period. 

Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills, said: “The race for space and dash to the countryside from mid-2020 drove a sharp increase in the number of £1m homes outside of London and other urban settings.

“However, increased mortgage costs and a rebalancing of demand back to city living have meant about 30% of the those whose homes crossed the £1million threshold, have, for the time being at least, become aspiring million pound homeowners once again.”

Meanwhile, separate analysis of £1m -plus sales by TwentyCi that took place in 2023 shows that London locations continue to dominate the £1m map.  The boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea, Westminster, Camden, Hammersmith & Fulham and Richmond Upon Thames had the highest percentage of sales over £1m in 2023.

London locations made up eight of the top 10 local authorities, joined by Elmbridge and Mole Valley outside of London. 

Cook added: “New one million-pound hotspots popped up across the breadth of Great Britain in the wake of the pandemic, as affluent home buyers changed priorities in the search for more space.

“However in 2023, prime property prices held up stronger in the capital than across the rest of the Country (-1.1% vs -4.8%), meaning London boroughs have been more easily been able to hold on to their share of £1 million property sales.”