Number of property millionaires slashed

The number of UK properties worth £1m and more has plummeted by 35% since the start of the credit crisis in autumn 2007.

Research carried out by property information website Zoopla.co.uk reveals that at the peak of the market in 2007, 1 in 97 UK homes was valued in excess of £1m. Today that figure has reduced to just one in 150.

The concentration of £1m+ properties remaining varies hugely according to region. Despite large falls in average house prices over the last two years, London and the South East still abound with top-end homes, with four fifths (81%) of all £1m+ properties located in these areas.

The capital is home to 57% of all property millionaires, with the lion’s share living in Kensington (W8) where 48% of all properties are worth over £1m. Outside the capital, Virginia Water in Surrey is home to the most property millionaires, with 28% of homes in the area worth more than £1m, compared to a national average of 0.88%.

The North East has seen the biggest fall in property millionaires since 2007 been hit the hardest over the past two years, with an 83% reduction. Wales has also suffered, losing 56% of its property millionaires over the same period.

Alex Chesterman, CEO of Zoopla.co.uk, said:

“The housing market downturn has taken its toll on the exclusive ‘property millionaires club’, reducing the number of those who can claim membership from 283,168 in November 2007 to only 183,630 today.

"London remains the property millionaire capital of Britain, whilst other parts of the country have seen their property millionaire ranks decimated over the past two years, with many of the former million pound pads sitting close to the threshold.”