Million-pound homes hit new height

Mortgages for houses of £1m or more are at the highest level in a decade.

£1m homes are no longer just for the super wealthy, as almost half of 2015 buyers paying a million or more took out a mortgage.

This 46 per cent is almost double the 23 per cent at the start of the financial crisis in 2008, according to new research from estate agent Hamptons International.

Typically more pricey properties are purchased without the need for a loan but the increasing use of mortgages reflects the view that £1m homes are not only for very rich homeowners – especially in London.

The comparison to 2008 also suggests that finance is relatively low cost and increasingly available since the economy recovered and credit conditions loosened.

As we already know, areas like St Albans and Harpenden are in the top bracket for house prices compared with the North West, for example, where just 23 per cent of £1m properties were bought with a mortgage in 2015 – the lowest in the country.

In 2015, 55 per cent of UK homes in the £1-2m range were bought with a mortgage. That figure was 30 per cent for houses worth £2-5m and 9 per cent for properties with a £5m price tag.

This year, during the first quarter, the number of £1m plus homes bought with a mortgage continues to rise. Between January and March, 51 per cent were paid for with a loan.