Although deals in London account for the vast majority of high-end home sales in the U.K., the pandemic has pushed luxury buyers into more bucolic regions, according to a report Monday from the U.K.-based mortgage firm Enness Global Mortgages.
There were 886 prime properties—those priced at £3 million (US$4.2 million)—sold in the U.K. during the 12 months ending in February, according to the report. The median price for those homes was just under £4 million.
The capital city saw 78% of deals for prime properties, the data showed. The South East region, where cities like Oxford and Reading are located, recorded the second-highest number of deals, accounting for 15%.
“We’ve seen lockdown spur an uplift in buyer demand for bigger homes with more outdoor space and this is no different at the very top end, with high-end homebuyers also keen to upgrade...this high-end activity has been largely focussed within the south,” Islay Robinson, CEO of Enness Global Mortgages, said in the report.
The capital city saw 78% of deals for prime properties, the data showed. The South East region, where cities like Oxford and Reading are located, recorded the second-highest number of deals, accounting for 15%.
“We’ve seen lockdown spur an uplift in buyer demand for bigger homes with more outdoor space and this is no different at the very top end, with high-end homebuyers also keen to upgrade...this high-end activity has been largely focussed within the south,” Islay Robinson, CEO of Enness Global Mortgages, said in the report.
The South West registered 3% of the transactions, followed by the East of England, 2%, North West, 1%, and West Midlands, 0.2%, the report found.
Elmbridge, in the country of Surrey in the South East, recorded 31 prime transactions, the most of any city outside of London, the data showed. The median price of a luxury home there was £3.8 million for the year ending in February.
Also in the South East, Buckinghamshire had the third-most prime deals, 14, followed by Windsor and Maidenhead, which had 11, the report found. Median prices were £3.71 million and £3.75 million, respectively.
The most expensive home, £6.2 million, sold outside of London was in Teignbridge, in the South West, according to the report.
