"So while London may not be seeing any spectacular growth at a top line level, it is very much a case of quality of quantity in the current market"
- Marc von Grundherr - Benham and Reeves
The latest research by London lettings and estate agents, Benham and Reeves, has revealed that a fifth of all homes sold so far this year across the capital have broken the £1m barrier.
The research looked at sold price data from the Land Registry for property sales to have been completed so far this year (Jan to Aug 2023 - latest available) across 12 major cities, before analysing what proportion of total sales sold for £1m or more, the average sold price, and the total value of homes sold.
The London market continues to lag behind the rest of the nation when it comes to the annual rate of house price growth, down -0.8% in the last year, one of just three regions to have seen a year-on-year decline.
However, when it comes to homes sold at £1m or more, London remains the dominant force within the market.
The research by Benham and Reeves shows that so far this year, 3,716 properties have sold for £1m or more across London, equating to 21.1% of total sales completed across the capital.
Bristol ranks as the city with the second highest number of £1m property transactions, although the 86 homes sold for £1m or more equate to just 1.9% of total homes sold.
Sheffield (0.9%), Newcastle (0.6%) and Leeds (0.6%) also rank within the top five, albeit £1m property sales account for less than 1% of all homes sold in 2023.
London also sits top in terms of both the median sold price and the total value of £1m property sales.
Homes selling above the £1m threshold have averaged a sold price of £1.45m versus £565,000 across the rest of the London market.
In total, London’s £1m homes have sold for a combined value of £312.2m, with Bristol again ranking second albeit someway off the pace set by London with a total value of £156.1m.
Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, commented:
“It’s fair to say that the London market as a whole has been underperforming for some time and we simply haven’t seen the same high rates of house price growth envelope the capital when compared to the rest of the nation.
"However, there’s no doubt it remains the driving force when it comes to homes sold for £1m or more and in this respect, no other major city comes close.
"We’ve seen strong levels of demand so far this year across the upper tiers of the London market, buoyed by the return of foreign homebuyers, in particular.
"So while London may not be seeing any spectacular growth at a top-line level, it is very much a case of quality of quantity in the current market.”
