More than a third of the top 1,000 most expensive property sales in 2022 were outside of London, figures show as increasing numbers of wealthy homeowners ditch life in London for countryside post lockdown

• The City’s richest men and women are leaving the capital for the Home Counties 
• Million-pound properties outside of London grew for the first time in seven years
• The rich are prioritising green spaces instead of the bustle of inner city London

London-based home-buyers are moving out of the Capital and fleeing to the leafy Home Counties, research suggests. 

The City’s richest men and women are looking around for more rural and suburban homes in the likes of Surrey, Buckinghamshire and Hampshire.

More than 34 per cent of the top 1,000 most expensive home purchases in Britain were made outside of London this year- a bumper 45 per cent bounce in 12 months, according to Search Acumen, a prop tech company.

Earlier this year it was found that the number of million-pound properties grew for the first time since 2015, with one in 42 homes worth £1million or more, the Telegraph reported.  

The City’s richest men and women are looking around for more rural and suburban homes in the likes of Surrey, Buckinghamshire and Hampshire

Research suggests tenants are longing for more green space since after lockdown confined people to their home. 

More working professionals are spending a greater amount of time in their digs with a third of people continuing to work from home for a chunk of the week. 

Three years ago only 15 per cent of the most expensive sales were made outside of the City. 

Rows of residential homes in London. Earlier this year it was recorded that the number of million-pound properties grew for the first time since 2015, with one in 42 homes worth £1million or more

Although London continues to dominate big-ticket sales Surrey was now second most in-demand spot for new homes.

Excluding the Big Smoke, the county had the biggest proportion of high price tags, with more than four in five of the most expensive homes in the country this year.

The second most popular destination for big ticket sales was Buckinghamshire (32), followed by Herfordshire (28) and Hampshire (26).  

Meanwhile demand for pricey abodes in Kensington and Chelsea nosedived by 45 per cent year-on-year to 154. 

At the same time sales in Westminster dropped by 50 per cent and Camden saw a 36 per cent fall in demand.  

A large detached home in Suffolk. Demand for houses in the Home Counties are going through the roof

Search Acumen said the drop in demand was due to the loss of international buyers from London’s once red-hot market.

However, according to Bloomberg, the same group have bought 48 per cent of prime central London homes this year

This figure is up from 35 per cent in 2021 when Britain was hit by swathes of restrictions and lockdown measures. 

Research found the cost-of-living for the top 0.1 per cent living outside of London has plummeted.

The average price paid across the top 1,000 sales so far this year was £3.4 million – roughly half the £6.3 million spend in 2021.

Excluding the Big Smoke, Surrey (pictured) had the biggest proportion of high price tags, with more than four in five of the most expensive homes in the country this year.

Loughborough University found in 2020 that even a basic standard of living was up to 58 per cent more expensive than in other urban areas across the UK. 

Andy Somerville, of Search Acumen, said: ‘The days of London being the default location of choice for high-value house purchases are increasingly behind us as big-spending homebuyers look to invest their time and money in locations beyond the capital.’

Dawn Carritt, of Jackson-Stops estate agents, said: ‘Key to this rebalance has been the void of international buyers during lockdown.’

‘Offers that are being made now feel much more grounded in reality than they did this time last year. Buyers do not want to enter the bidding wars we sometimes saw six months ago.’

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