There has been a five fold increase in property millionaires in the UK in the last decade with over 100,000 new property millionaires created since 2000, according to a new survey That amounts to a staggering 393% increase but the research also shows that there has been a three in ten decrease in millionaire properties during the credit crunch as the global downturn has taken its toll.
The research for Santander Mortgages also reveals that there are currently 131,996 residential properties worth over £1 million in Britain, almost a five-fold increase on the 26,776 that existed in 2000. Most of the million pound plus properties, some 78%, are in London.
While the credit crunch led to over 43,000 homes losing their millionaire status between 2008 and 2009, a 29% reduction, the market in million pound properties has recovered. Over the past year alone, the number of million pound plus properties has risen by around 29,000, returning the number of property millionaires close to its early 2008 peak when there were 147,000 of them.
Around 78%, 103,168, of these million pound homes are in Greater London, with the capital’s South West postcode claiming nearly 29% of the nation’s millionaire properties. Indeed, postcodes in London and the Home Counties including towns such as Guildford, Kingston upon Thames and Hemel Hempstead occupy the top ten places in Santander Mortgages’ Property Millionaire League Table.
London’s South East postcode area has showed a staggering 23 fold increase in its number of property millionaires in the past decade.
Edinburgh is the first non South East area of the country in the league, coming in at eleventh place with 1,665 million pound plus properties. Warrington is in twentieth place in the table, with 1,066 property millionaires and Bournemouth is twenty second with 870.
‘For many of us our home is our castle and in recent years we’ve often viewed our home as a key investment too. Whether you’re a property millionaire or not, prospective buyers and those remortgaging need to ensure they get a fair deal on their house and mortgage,’ said Phil Cliff, director of mortgages at Santander.
Nigel Lewis, property analyst at PrimeLocation.com said it is amazing how fast million-pound plus property prices have recovered since the dark days of 2008 when the market experienced significant price reductions. ‘The research shows that the number of million pound homes for sale has risen considerably over the past year and the number of people looking to buy them has also jumped by 20% so it’s no wonder that the prime property market is recovering so fast,’ he added.
