There’s a new North South divide appearing when it comes to the sale of million pound plus homes, with the top-performing regions now Wales and the Midlands.

Million pound plus home sales have cooled in the capital, decreasing by 8% between the first half of 2017 and the second half of 2018, according to Lloyds Private Banking.

Over the same period sales in Wales doubled and purchases of million pound homes in the East Midlands shot up by 67%.

London still dominates

Of course, the regions are starting from a much lower level, with sales of million pound plus homes doubling from just nine to 18 in Wales, and in the East Midlands rising from 24 to 40.

The sale of million pound plus homes in London may have declined 8% to 3,628, but the capital’s market share of million pound homes is still 57%, and the top six local authority districts with the highest number of million pound plus property sales remain in London.

Big fall in North East

The picture was less positive in other areas of the country. The biggest drop was in the North East, which saw a 38% fall in the sale of million pound plus homes (from 13 in the first half of 2017 to eight in the first half of 2018).

Sarah Deaves, UK wealth director at Lloyds Bank, said: “The trend of a split across the country in the purchase of million pound plus homes continues, with the capital still experiencing a decline in the number of sales.

“Political uncertainty is likely to be influencing buyers’ decisions about investing in property in the capital, especially in homes at the higher end of the scale.

“The picture outside London seems to be moving in a different direction, particularly in Wales and the East Midlands. Explanations for this could be that homes outside of the capital are less likely to be used for investment with purchaser buying properties to live in.

“The development of HS2 in addition to commuting links between the capital and Birmingham are also likely to be contributing factors to property investment in this region.”