Huge increase in million-pound homes

The number of homes for sale priced at one million pounds or more has doubled since pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

According to property portal Rightmove, just over five per cent of Great Britain’s property for sale is now priced at a million pounds or more compared with just under three per cent in 2019.

In the East, Uttlesford in Essex has seen the second largest increase in volume of million-pound properties for sale (233 per cent) while St Albans has seen the fourth highest increase in proportion of million-pound properties for sale (up nine per cent).

The analysis looked at homes for sale between January and April 2025 compared with the same period in 2019.

Compared with before the pandemic, Cornwall has seen the biggest increase in the number of one-million pound or over homes for sale.

As expected, London has the largest number of million-pound homes for sale, with Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, and Wandsworth topping the list.

Mole Valley in the South East has emerged as the area which is increasingly becoming a million-pound market for buyers.

Over a fifth of homes for sale in Mole Valley are priced at one-million pounds or more, an uplift of 12 per cent in six years.

The London Borough of Richmond has become the latest area to reach an average asking price of over a million pounds for the first time – now £1,006,981.

Across the thousands of local housing markets on Rightmove, back in 2019, there were 30 areas outside of London with an average asking price of one million pounds or more.

Six years later, that number has more than doubled to 66.

Colleen Babcock, Rightmove’s property expert, says: “The surge in million-pound homes for sale across Great Britain is substantial.

“Since 2019, we’ve seen the number of million-pound homes for sale double, with over five per cent of the market now priced at a million pounds or more.

“This isn’t just happening in London; places like Cornwall, Uttlesford, and Somerset are also seeing big jumps in the number of high-value properties.

“Mole Valley is a standout, with 22 per cent of its homes for sale now in the million-pound bracket.

“The number of areas outside of London where the average price is a million pounds or more has also more than doubled, showing that the million-pound mark is becoming more common in various locations.”