From 1 in 40 to 1 in 45: Britain's £1m home count drops sharply

Around half of Britain’s million pound homes are in London, Savills said (Jonathan Brady/PA) Jonathan Brady

Around one in 45 homes across Britain is now valued at £1 million or more, according to property firm Savills. The figure marks a significant drop from the 2022 peak but remains higher than pre-pandemic levels, reflecting a dramatic rebalancing in the housing market after the post-Covid boom.

The total number of million-pound homes has fallen by 63,500 since 2022 and by 29,400 in the past year alone. Savills estimates there are currently 673,143 such properties across Britain, with around half located in London.

The decline reverses a "mini-housing boom" during the pandemic when the proportion of £1 million-plus homes surged to one in 40 in 2022, driven by a "race for space" as buyers sought rural and coastal properties. In 2019, before the pandemic, the ratio stood at one in 55.

Market rebalancing hits hardest

Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills, said multiple factors have driven the correction. «Higher mortgage costs, changing lifestyle priorities and tougher tax measures have rebalanced the market, causing pockets of growth to contract,» he said. «More recently, additional tax burdens placed on the most prime properties, particularly in central London and across second-home hotspots, have meant that some of the most expensive neighbourhoods have experienced some of the sharpest pullbacks to values.»

The South East and South West, which saw significant growth during the pandemic property rush, have been particularly affected. Around 40 percent of South East homes that entered the £1 million bracket between 2019 and 2022 have since dropped below that threshold, compared to 15 percent in London.

Regional breakdown

London leads with 340,620 million-pound homes, down 8,447 over the past year. The South East follows with 151,659, down 8,314. The East of England has 58,466 such properties, while the South West counts 40,706.

Northern England, the Midlands and Scotland have been less affected by the value pullback. Scotland's total of 11,329 million-pound homes remained unchanged over the past year, while the North East saw the smallest decline with just 30 properties dropping below the threshold.

Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).