Surge in property millionaires

The proportion of properties worth £1m in prime London has risen by over 8% in the last year, according to estate agent Marsh & Parsons' latest London Prime Market Monitor. Just over one third of properties across the prime areas of London were worth £1m or more in September 2011 (34.6%), a figure that had risen to two in five (43%) following average annual price growth of 11.1% in the last quarter. Properties worth more than £1m are no longer confined to locations in prime central London. In September 2010, 57.1% of £1m properties were located in the traditional prime central locations such as Chelsea and Kensington, a figure that has fallen to 52.7% as areas to the south and west of more traditional prime central hotspots see strong price growth. However the strong price growth in the past two years has also boosted the number of homes worth £2m in prime London. 18.5% of all homes in prime London are worth £2m or more, compared to 14.3% a year ago, while 35.5% of homes in prime central London are now worth £2m or more. Peter Rollings, CEO of Marsh & Parsons, comments: “After the meteoric price rises seen in prime London in the past few years, the number of property millionaires in the capital has also shot up. Properties no longer have to be palatial to be worth £1m. If they are located in a popular prime area, there's a good chance they'll be worth a seven figure sum. November 2, 2012