Sales of million-pound homes fell for the first time in two years. But at the very top end of the market, multi-million home sales to the super-rich were at an historic high before the hike in Stamp Duty.
According to research by Lloyds TSB, sales of £1m properties slipped 5% last year to a total of 6,911, down from 7,256.
In total, there are an estimated 165,000 homes in Britain worth at least £1m.
However, multi-million pound property sales rose to their highest level on record. There were 1,518 property sales worth at least £2m in 2011, a rise of 5% from 1,442 sales in 2010.
This is the highest number of sales in this price bracket since records began in 1995. Sales of properties topping the £2m mark were also 2% higher in 2011 than at the peak of the housing market in 2007 at 1,484.
In addition, the number of properties selling for over £5m rose by 22% from 128 in 2010 to 156 in 2011, providing further evidence of the strength of sales at the super-rich end of the market.
Over three-quarters (76%) of all £2m-plus sales in 2011 were in London (1,161) and more than half took place in just three boroughs: Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster and Camden.
The 5% rise in multi-million pound property sales in 2011 contrasted to the fall in sales across the rest of the housing market. Overall, total home sales in Britain fell in number by 4% from 728,550 in 2010 to 698,200 last year.
Despite the increase in sales, Lloyds TSB estimates that only 0.2% (38,000) of all homes in Britain are worth at least £2m and, therefore, potentially subject to the new 7% Stamp duty rate. Even in London, multi-million pound sales account for only 1.3% of all properties.
Comments