There were more £1 million-plus property sales in St Albans than almost anywhere else in the UK last year.

According to a study of Land Registry data, 10 per cent of all sales in the area during 2019 were for at least a million.

Excluding London, only Elmbridge in Surrey, South Bucks (21 per cent) and Chiltern (12 per cent) saw more sales at this level than St Albans, while Windsor, Maidenhead, Three Rivers and Guildford followed close behind with 9 per cent.

£1 million-plus sales accounted for just 1.8 per cent of all transactions nationally and an enormous 59 per cent of sales in Kensington and Chelsea.

Marc von Grundherr - director of estate agency Benham and Reeves, who analysed the data - admitted that Brexit uncertainty had caused the market to "grind to stutter" at the very top end where "there had understandably been a sharp drop in buyer interest".

While this had seen transaction levels fall in the upper price tiers, there hadn't been "a total exodus", he said, and London in particular had remained "a very attractive proposition to the wealthiest buyers".

Marc added: "Those that did commit to a purchase over the last year have done well in terms of value for money, as the top tiers of the market are often those susceptible to the most dramatic swings in price once the cogs do start to turn, and will no doubt start to climb in price as the year plays out."