The proportion of properties worth a million pounds in prime London has risen by over 8% in the last year, according to estate agent Marsh & Parsons’ latest London Prime Market Monitor.
34.6% of properties across the prime areas of London were worth £1 million or more in September 2011, a figure that had risen to 43% following average annual price growth of 11.1% in the last quarter.
The estate agent said that properties worth more than £1 million are no longer confined to locations in prime central London. In September 2010, 57.1% of £1 million properties were located in the traditional prime central locations such as Chelsea and Kensington, a figure that has now fallen to 52.7% as areas to the south and west of more traditional prime central hotspots see strong price growth.
However the strong price growth in the past two years has also boosted the number of homes worth £2 million in prime London. 18.5% of all homes in prime London are worth £2 million or more, compared to 14.3% a year ago, while 35.5% of homes in prime central London are now worth £2 million or more.
Peter Rollings, CEO of Marsh & Parsons, said: “After the meteoric price rises seen in prime London in the past few years, the number of property millionaires in the capital has also shot up. Properties no longer have to be palatial to be worth £1 million. If they are located in a popular prime area, there’s a good chance they’ll be worth a seven figure sum. They do not necessarily have to be ‘mansions’.
“International and domestic buyers have been flocking to prime property in recent years, but this influx of wealth is no longer concentrated in the most central locations. With the supply of homes especially constrained in the central prime areas, wealth has been overflowing into areas like Balham, Clapham and Brook Green, pushing up prices and boosting the number of £1 million properties across the capital.”