The number of properties in Britain valued at over £1 million has soared by roughly one-third within the last five years, as per estimates from Savills. The property firm reported a net increase of 3,127 homes achieving valuations of at least £1 million in the past year, compared to 2023 figures.
This uptick raises the total count of such premium homes to an estimated 702,580—a 34% climb over the span of half a decade.
Currently, the data suggests that roughly one in 42 UK dwellings boasts a value north of the £1 million mark. London, in particular, saw a significant surge in such high-end homes in the previous year, with the research highlighting that one in 11 residences in the capital stands valued at or above this level.
London alone is home to a record-breaking 349,068 properties exceeding the £1 million valuation threshold, as indicated by these findings. Not all areas of the UK observed this rise—in fact, some regions recorded a decline in their quota of million-pound homes and, taking London out of the equation, the rest of the UK saw a 1% fall in such property numbers last year, reports Bristol Live.
Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills, said: “Growth has been limited by higher mortgage costs and stretched affordability, further reducing some of the gains made over the course of the pandemic in suburban and rural areas.
“However, increased demand for city living driven by the return-to-work movement has re-balanced the market back in favour of London homeowners, with 5,000 properties crossing the £1 million threshold in 2024.”
Outside of London, one in every 73 homes are worth £1 million-plus, Savills estimated. In percentage terms, the North East of England saw the biggest rise in property millionaires outside of London (a 5.5% increase), although this market still holds the smallest overall market share, the report said.
The West Midlands also saw a big jump, with 918 more million-pound properties last year. Peter Daborn, director and head of residential sales at Savills in the West Midlands, said: “We see many buyers still taking advantage of flexible working and the appeal of living in the countryside is still a big draw, with London commutable in little over an hour from the likes of Stafford station.
“The recent changes to school fees are also having an impact on the region’s property market, with more buyers driven to the West Midlands to take advantage of the abundance of highly regarded public schools on offer.
“When coupled with the relative affordability in counties like Shropshire and Staffordshire, a new balance is struck, meaning families can still have the complete package of the home, lifestyle, and education they want, without increased financial burden.”
The South East, East of England, the South West and Wales all saw a decline in their £1 million-plus stock, according to the research, which involved looking at the distribution of housing stock by price band and applying price movements from Savills’ prime regional index.
The figures were released as a separate index from property firm Hamptons found that the average tenant moving into a new property in Britain during January 2025 saw the rent they pay rise by 1.8% compared with 12 months ago, marking the slowest rate of growth since October 2020.
Hamptons’ data is taken from property services firm Connells Group. Tenants renewing a contract continued to see rents rise much faster than tenants moving into new properties.
The average rent for a tenant renewing their contract rose 6.0% across Britain annually, according to Hamptons. The average monthly rent for a new let was £1,372 while the average monthly let for someone renewing was slightly less, at £1,263, in January 2025.
Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons, said: “What happens to rents on newly-let homes tends to play out in the renewal market around 18 months later. So we expect tenants renewing their contracts to face smaller increases in 2025 than they did in 2024.”
Here are the number of million-pound properties last year, according to Savills, followed by the annual increase or decrease (the property firm stated some of its regional figures may not add up to national totals due to rounding in its calculations):
London, 349,068, 5,202
South East, 159,973, minus 1,902
East of England, 64,339, minus 1,320
South West, 46,324, minus 1,527
West Midlands, 22,065, 918
North West, 20,764, 834
Yorkshire and the Humber, 12,200, 522
Scotland, 11,330, 11
East Midlands, 9,286, 348
Wales, 4,485, minus 100
North East, 2,746, 142