The number of property millionaires in the UK has for the first time broken the 300,000 mark, based upon the findings recently released by Zoopla.co.uk.
As demand for high end properties in prime locations rises, 2012 welcomed 47,000 new property millionaires to the home owners market, bringing the total number up to 300,142.
The vast majority of these properties are located in London and the South East of England, with 64% (182,582) situated in London alone. Moreover, the borough of Kensington and Chelsea, with an average price of £2,186,471 and 64% of all properties worth over one million, has the honour of being home to the most property millionaires in the UK.
Zoopla.co.uk also revealed that 36,293 (12% of the total) property millionaires live in Kensington and Chelsea, and the boroughs of Westminster and Camden, having 32,477 and 18,400 property millionaires respectively, taking second and third place.
Commenting on the findings, Lawrence Hall of Zoopla.co.uk, said that the wealthier end of the property market seems to be unaffected by the economic downturn. Furthermore, ‘wealthy buyers are relatively impervious to the economic problems affecting the rest of the market, most notably when it comes to getting a mortgage.’ Similarly, he attributes the increases to foreign investors looking to purchase high quality properties in some of the most prestigious areas of London, which has in turn pushed up property prices.
If 2013 experiences a repeat of increased investment in properties worth more than a million pounds, the market may well see an increase in large mortgage applications.
