Some of the biggest proportional increases in sales of £1m-plus homes happened outside London and its commuter belt last year, with sales almost doubling in Cheltenham and Birmingham.
While the capital accounted for 60% of £1m-plus sales, stronger house price growth in the rest of the country and steady demand meant luxury homes were being traded more widely than before – from Yorkshire to north-west England and the West Midlands.
The number of homes sold for more than £1m in England and Wales rose by 6% to 19,100 in 2017, according to HMRC figures.
Analysis of Land Registry data by Knight Frank shows the most notable rises came in prime markets outside London and the capital’s traditional “commuter zone” in the south-east.
Excluding local authorities where fewer than 20 high-value sales were recorded, Cheltenham recorded the biggest rise, followed by Birmingham and North Hertfordshire. These hotspots experienced more demand for luxury homes as well as strong house price growth of 8.1%, 5.5% and 6.1% respectively, which helped push a number of properties over the £1m mark.
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