Number of property millionaires in London 'falls twice as sharply as the rest of UK'

The number of property millionaires in London has fallen almost twice as sharply as the rest of the country, it was revealed today.

There was an 8.1 per cent annual drop in the number of homes in the capital worth an estimated £1m or more, down from 430,720 to 395,871.

This compared with a UK-wide decline of 4.5 per cent, according to property website Zoopla.

London still accounts for more than half of the 733,777 homes valued in seven figures. The national total was down 4.5 per cent, from 768,553 last year — about one in 40 homes.

The average estimated property value of a home in London is now £654,730 — though this is almost £200,000 more than prices being achieved when properties are sold.

Experts blamed the slump on the drop in house prices, the uncertainty of Brexit, and stamp duty rises.

Westminster was the London borough with most millionaire properties — 54,137, meaning 46 per cent of homes in the area were valued in seven figures. Kensington and Chelsea was second with 44,130, or 54 per cent of its homes.

Camden was third with 34,569, or 32 per cent of the borough’s homes.

Barking and Dagenham has the fewest million-pound homes — 22. There were 522 in Newham and 673 in Bexley.

Outside London, Guildford had most property millionaires at 5,615. Some 44 per cent of homes in Cobham, also in Surrey, were valued at £1m or more — the UK’s highest rate.

Figures from the Land Registry last month revealed that London house prices fell for the sixth month in succession — the longest run of declines since the 2008/9 financial crisis.

The average home in the capital was worth £473,822 in December, 0.6 per cent — or about £3,000 — less than a year previously. Prices have dipped every month since June.

Today’s Zoopla research found that in areas such as the East, West Midlands, North-East and Yorkshire the number of £1m properties increased.

Annabel Dixon, spokeswoman for Zoopla, said: “It’s hard to ignore the overall decline in million-pound properties in the past 12 months. But it’s clear to see the majority of this decline resides in London. Outside the capital, there has been significant growth in seven-figure properties.

“It’s also encouraging to see resiliency and growth in some areas of the market that haven’t traditionally been strong performers such as North-West England and Yorkshire and The Humber, where the number of million-pound properties has increased by 329 and 203 respectively.”