Rise in sales of million-pound houses despite stamp duty hike

Uncertainty before EU referendum and bigger tax bill did not slow sales

More than 4,000 sales of million-pound houses took place in London (Getty)

The number of homes sold for at least £1m rose by 12 per cent in the first half of this year, compared to the same period in 2015, a new report indicates.

Sales of the expensive homes jumped from 5,946 to 6,684 between January and June, despite an increase in stamp duty and uncertainty ahead of the referendum on leaving the EU, the report by Lloyds Bank said.

The 12 per cent hike more than offsets a 6 per cent drop that occurred the year before.

Yet the average price of a property at the top-end of the market has fallen compared to a couple of years ago.

It was £1.73m in the first half of 2016, compared to £1.86m in 2014.

According to Lloyds Bank, the price-drop has been caused in part by a decrease in sales of the most expensive homes over the past two years.

Changes in stamp duty in late 2014 made it more expensive for buyers to purchase a home worth more than £937,500. This change made the tax cheaper for 98 per cent of house buyers.

Scotland is the only part of the UK where sales of high-end properties fell – by a third. Instead, the country saw growth of 9 per cent in sales of houses below the £1m mark.

More than 4,000 sales of million-pound houses took place in London, the area with the largest number of high-end sales.

Around 8 per cent of all million-pound property sales took place in Kensington and Chelsea alone, and another 8 per cent in Westminster.

But the largest rise in the number of pricey homes was in northeast England, where 11 sales drove an 83 per cent increase.

Despite the rise in the sales of the expensive homes, analysts have predicted the housing market will stagnate now the UK has decided to leave the EU.