Sales of top end homes continue to fall in London but rise in Wales

Sales of million pound plus homes in London have continued to drop, decreasing by 8% but in Wales they have doubled and in the East Midlands are up by 67%, new research shows.
There was also a rise of 19% of high end homes in the West Midlands, according to the latest house price data from Lloyds Bank Private Banking covering the periods from the first half of 2017 to the second half of 2018.
The picture was less positive in other areas of the country. The biggest drop was in the North East, which saw a 38% fall in the sale of million pound plus homes and Yorkshire and the Humber also saw a decrease of 27% drop.
The sale of million pound plus homes in London continued to decline, down 8%, and the capital’s market share of million pound homes also decreased to 57% from 60% in 2017.
The research report suggests that changes to stamp duty on second homes, introduced in 2016, is likely to be contributing factor to this decline. Sales in London were at their peak at 4,371 in the first half of 2014, dropping to 4,238 in the first half of 2016 and then continuing to decline in subsequent years.
Despite this, the top six local authority districts with the highest number of million pound plus property sales were still in London.
‘The trend of a split across the country in the purchase of million pound plus homes continues, with the capital still experiencing a decline in the number of sales. Political uncertainty is likely to be influencing buyers’ decisions about investing in property in the capital, especially in homes at the higher end of the scale,’ said Sarah Deaves, UK wealth director at Lloyds Bank.
‘London and South East continue to dominate in overall share of high end homes but the Increases in stamp duty and capital gains tax for foreign investors have dampened demand in the capital, with more housing stock now on the market,’ she explained.
She pointed out that the picture outside London seems to be moving in a different direction, particularly in Wales and the East Midlands. ‘Explanations for this could be that homes outside of the capital are less likely to be used for investment with purchaser buying properties to live in,’ she added.
‘The development of HS2 in addition to commuting links between the capital and Birmingham are also likely to be contributing factors to property investment in this region,’ she added.
Source: Property wire