A fifth of all homes sold so far this year across the capital have done so for £1m or more, according to research by London lettings and estate agent Benham and Reeves.
Benham and Reeves analysed sold price data from the Land Registry for property sales to have completed so far this year (January to August 2023) across 12 major cities.
The London market continued to lag behind the rest of the nation when it comes to the annual rate of house price growth, down -0.8% in the last year, one of just three regions to have seen a year on year decline.
However, when it comes to homes sold at £1m or more, London remained the dominant force.
So far this year, 3,716 properties have sold for £1m or more across London, equating to 21.1% of total sales completed across the capital.
Bristol had the second highest number of £1m property transactions, although the 86 homes sold for £1m or more equated to just 1.9% of total homes sold.
Sheffield (0.9%), Newcastle (0.6%) and Leeds (0.6%) also rank within the top five, albeit £1m property sales account for less than 1% of all homes sold in 2023.
London was also top in terms of both the median sold price and total value of £1m property sales.
Homes selling above the £1m threshold averaged a sold price of £1.45m versus £565,000 across the rest of the London market.
In total, London’s £1m homes sold for a combined value of £312.2m, with Bristol again ranking second but some way off, with a total value of £156.1m.
Marc von Grundherr, director of Benham and Reeves, said: “It’s fair to say that the London market as a whole has been underperforming for some time and we simply haven’t seen the same high rates of house price growth envelope the capital when compared to the rest of the nation.
“However, there’s no doubt it remains the driving force when it comes to homes sold for £1m or more and in this respect, no other major city comes close.”
He added: “We’ve seen strong levels of demand so far this year across the upper tiers of the London market, buoyed by the return of foreign homebuyers, in particular.
“So, while London may not be seeing any spectacular growth at a top line level, it is very much a case of quality of quantity in the current market.”
