Wales sees UK’s biggest rise in number of homes worth £1m

The number of “property millionaires” rose by 63 per cent in Wales in the last year, according to research conducted by Savills estate agency.

The Times has published research, conducted by the estate agency  which has found that 2.4 per cent of all housing in Britain is now worth £1 million or more, which equates to a record 689,168 homes.

In Wales, £1m will buy 2799 square feet compared to 1389 square feet per £1m in greater London, while Lancashire and Merseyside offer ‘best value for money’ with 3954 square feet.

While 1 in 81 homes in the Vale of Glamorgan (740) and Monmouthshire (520 homes) are worth more than a million, Cardiff (910 homes) and Gwynedd (340 homes) are hot on the heels with 1 in 169 and 1 in 184 respectively, each equating to 1% of the housing stock in those counties.

In other parts of Wales, the properties in the £1m+ bracket is in the tens rather than the hundreds, with Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen showing less than ten such properties, along with Merthyr Tydfil which the figures say has yet to make a £1m sale.

The research also calculates the average first-time buyer is 32 and puts down a £53,935 deposit on a property costing £264,140, seven times the average salary of first-time buyers.

Skyrocketing

In January, figures from the Halifax revealed that Wales bore the brunt of skyrocketing house prices in 2021, with prices increasing by 14.5 per cent compared with 2020 to an average of £205,579, by far the biggest rise of any nation or region within the UK.

Zoopla reported Wales recorded the highest rate of house price growth in the UK, for ten consecutive months in April and noted: “Prices are up 11.3% in the country, with average values in Powys, Carmarthenshire and Neath Port Talbot rising by 14.4%, 13.7% and 13.4% respectively as the desire for more space and the relative affordability of these markets has pushed up demand.

“Several factors combined in 2021 to drive demand for family homes. The pandemic ‘search for space’, the stamp duty holiday – where larger savings were available for higher value transactions, and also changing working patterns for office-based workers all contributed to a strong focus on family homes, especially in the wider commuter zones and in rural areas.”

The news comes as Welsh language campaigners Cymdeithas yr Iaith intend to hold a protest to call on the Welsh Government to do more to get to grips with the housing crisis across the nation.

The protest will begin on Trefechan bridge in Aberystwyth on the 19th of February, 60 years after Cymdeithas’ first-ever protest at that location.