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Property millionaires buck house price trend

Monday, 19 December 2011 11:26 AM

Britain's two-tier housing market created thousands of new millionaires in 2011 even though average house prices fell three per cent.

Property website Zoopla.co.uk said high demand for prime property created 73 new property millionaires every day and a total of 26,774 over the year.

The demand for large homes from equity-rich buyers combined with relatively low supply to push more than 250,000 homes into the £1m-plus bracket.

The biggest increase in property millionaires unsurprisingly came in London, where numbers rose by 18 per cent. The capital is home to nine of the 10 top areas in Britain with the highest proportion of £1m-plus homes and Kensington leads the way.

The only place outside London to make the top 10 was Virginia Water in Surrey, where 30 per cent of homes are worth £1 million or more.

In contrast the average British home is now valued at £221,128, down from £228,658 in December 2010.

Nick Leeming of Zoopla.co.uk said: "This data shows clearly how differently the top end of the market is performing from mainstream Britain.

"Whilst most of the market is suffering from the impact of inflation, stagnant wage growth, the inability to secure mortgage finance and nervousness about the future of the economy, at the upper end of the market, cash and equity rich buyers are enjoying some of the lowest mortgage rates in recent history."

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