Sharp fall in sales of million pound houses

There has been a sharp fall in sales of million pound houses as the top end of the property market continues to slow.

The first six months of 2015 saw an 11% decline in million-pound property sales, according to new research from Lloyds Bank.

Its research follows a recent report that demand is slumping in the saturated prime central London market.

In the first six months of this year year-on-year sales of million pound houses fell from 6,303 to 5,599.

This is in stark contrast to the 46% increase seen in the first half of 2014.

However, since the first half of 2005 million pound home sales have grown over three-and-a-half-fold from 1,540, a rise of 264%.

Despite falling sales nationally, some areas continue to buck the trend. Virginia Water, Cobham and Beaconsfield are Britain's most expensive towns, with an average house price of over £1 million.

This is the first time the average property price has hit £1 million outside of London.

Sarah Deaves, private banking director at Lloyds Bank, said: "The number of homes sold for over £1 million has fallen sharply over the past year, with a pronounced slowdown in the prime and central London market.

“This may be the effect of the new stamp duty rates introduced last December and uncertainty generated by the election in May.

"However, the regional picture is much more mixed and we’re seeing the emergence of towns where the average price is at least £1 million. Outside of the capital this is a first."

Two thirds of all million pound home sales in UK are in London, with the largest national shares in Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster.