Property millionaires soar in London but dwindle in Wales

07 January 2011

The number of property millionaires in Britain increased by 6 percent during 2010, according to research by property website www.Zoopla.co.uk.

One in every 118 homes is now worth £1 million or more, whereas in 2007 - when the property market was supposedly at its peak - it was just one in 97.

But while such figures might suggest that the economy is on the road to recovery, the research also demonstrates the uneven nature of this revival: while the number of property millionaires in London and the South East increased by 11 per cent and 12 per cent respectively, Scotland saw its property millionaire ranks fall by 14 per cent.

Even more shockingly, the number of Welsh property millionaires plunged by 49 per cent.

Unsurprisingly, the capital is home to nine of the top ten areas in Britain with the highest proportion of homes that are valued at over £1 million, led by Kensington (W8) where 52 per cent of all homes are worth more than £1 million.

Commenting on the figures, Nick Leeming of Zoopla.co.uk said: "The North versus South wealth divide is now starker than ever. Property values have recovered well at the top end of the property market but the rest of the market and particularly the North have seen a steep decline in high-end property values. The prime market in the South has been impacted far less by the mortgage squeeze as a result of the inflow of foreign money and the strength in the City keeping demand for million pound pads at peak levels."