Almost 40,000 homes crossed £1million threshold in 2020, the majority (83%) outside London

• The £1m+ homes total rose by 39,629 (8%) in 2020 to over 563,000, still just 1.8% of all homes (see tables/charts below)
• North-South divide remains strong despite narrowing over past 5 years: London still has 54.5% of all £1m+ homes, South East 22.2%
• But regions added 32,973 £1m+ homes in 2020, 5x London at +6,657
• Highest concentrations are in central London: Kensington & Chelsea 1 in 2.7 homes worth £1m+, Westminster 1 in 2.8
• Wandsworth in southwest London has as many £1m+ homes (33,217) as Wales, Scotland, the North East, North West and Yorkshire and Humber combined (33,261)
• There are 44 local authorities where at least 1 in 20 homes are £1m+ including Guildford, Woking, Winchester and Chichester

Price growth in the prime housing market pushed 8% more homes (39,629) over the £1million threshold last year, taking the total number of homes in the value band to 563,240, a figure that is still just 1.8% of all homes. 

This figure is 53% (equivalent to 196,222 homes) higher than a decade ago, but 7% below the 2015 peak of 608,565 homes given the effects of stamp duty and Brexit uncertainty. . 

“Covid-19 has led to well-documented behavioural and lifestyle changes that have shaped the pattern of growth in the prime markets as buyers seek more space,” says Lucian Cook, Savills head of residential research. 

“In 2020, prime regional house prices grew by 3.6 per cent and prime London by just 1.1 per cent. This trend was reflected in the change in the number of homes now worth £1 million or more, with five times more homes passing this threshold in the regional markets (+32,972) than in London (+6,657) last year.  Yet despite having narrowed in the past five years, the gap between the North and South remains strong.”

Whereas the number of £1m+ homes in London have slipped back in the past five years, across the Midlands the North of England, Scotland and Wales have risen by 20,476. 

Nonetheless London retains a dominant share of high value homes, with more (54.5%) £1million-plus homes than the rest of Great Britain combined, followed by 22.2 per cent for the South East. One in 12 homes in London are worth over £1 million compared to one in 32 in the South East and just 1 in 764 in the North West.

Several local authorities in the South have more homes worth over £1 million than the whole of the North of England. As a striking example, Wandsworth in southwest London has almost the same number (33,217) as Wales, Scotland, the North East, North West, and Yorkshire and Humber combined (33,261), where £1m+ homes are most heavily concentrated in affluent local markets such as Stratford upon Avon, Harrogate, Trafford, East Cheshire and Edinburgh. 

Regional distribution of £1m+ homes

Source: Savills research

Top local authority in each region

Source: Savills research