Sales of million pound houses near 2007 peak

Monday, 24 October 2011 9:15 AM

Sales of homes worth more than a million pounds have hit their highest level since the peak of the housing market in 2007.

Research by Lloyds TSB shows there were 3,375 property sales worth seven figures or more in the first half of 2011 – 19 per day.

That is the highest total since the 3,680 recorded in 2007 and represents a ten per cent increase on the same period last year.

And it happened in complete contrast to a nine per cent fall in residential property sales in the market as a whole.

London (2,163 sales) accounted for two-thirds of the seven-figure sales and most of the rest were in the south east (690), east (227) and the south west (118).

However, million-plus sales still only account for a tiny proportion of total sales – 1.1 per cent in Britain and 5.7 per cent in London.

Lloyds TSB estimates that there are 200,000 homes worth more than £1 million in the country.

Suren Thiru, Lloyds TSB housing economist, said: "Strong demand from wealthy cash rich buyers both in the UK and from overseas, as well as limited supply of such properties, has helped to boost the level of activity at the very top end of the housing market."

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