According to new analysis by Investec Wealth & Investment, flats and maisonettes are commanding the highest average prices in the £1m-plus residential property market, while detached houses dominate the number of sales.
In 2022, the average price paid for high-end flats and maisonettes was £1,908,782, compared to £1,805,004 for terraced houses, £1,663,880 for semi-detached houses, and £1,616,859 for detached houses.
The analysis of over 20,000 transactions found that detached houses accounted for more than half (52%) of all £1m-plus sales, with terraced houses on 23%, semi-detached on 13%, and flats and maisonettes on 12%.
Investec Wealth & Investment’s analysis also reveals that properties valued at £1m-plus made up 3.21% of all sales in 2022, compared with 2.75% in 2021, 2.37% in 2020, and 1.78% in 2019.
The strength of the high-end property market is driving a rise in demand for advice on inheritance tax, with more clients seeking help on managing potential IHT issues resulting from gains from selling their properties.
Around 40% of the £1m-plus sales in 2022 were in London, with homebuyers in the capital paying the highest average price out of the top ten areas with the largest number of sales. Richmond, Bristol, St Albans, and Reading made the top five in total number of sales, while Richmond, Leatherhead, Sevenoaks, and Guildford made the top five on average prices.
Faye Church, financial planning director at Investec Wealth & Investment, said: “Homeowners are increasingly facing the possibility of IHT bills when they sell their home.
“Many will be buying similar priced properties, but significant numbers will be looking to invest the money they have made on their property sale and would benefit from specialist support on managing their wealth.
“We are also seeing parents and grandparents that have decided to downsize for lifestyle reasons, reaching out to us to help them put a strategy in place for what to do with the proceeds, be that to gift, invest or use for a special holiday with lockdowns lifted.
“In addition to this, our analysis highlights the thousands of people who are liable to pay inheritance tax on their properties because of their value, and again they should seek professional financial advice on how to plan for this.”
