THE North West saw the biggest increase in property millionaires last year according to figures just released.

The region, along with Yorkshire, saw the greatest increase in seven figure properties in 2005 with the number going up by a massive 182 per cent.

Nationwide there are now nearly 60,000 property millionaires in England and Wales after the housing boom pushed more homes above the magic threshold, researchers from the Portman Building Society have shown.

The group, which based its research on Land Registry sales, data and figures from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, said the number of homes that would command a seven-figure price tag had soared by 14 per cent during the year.

It added there were now over 12 times more property millionaires than at the end of 1995, when just 4,677 people had a home worth more than é1 million.

Concentration

Although London still has the highest concentration of property millionaires, with more than 30,000 people owning a home worth more than seven figures at the end of last year.

The total accounted for half of all million pound-plus properties in England and Wales after increasing by 9 per cent during 2005, and soaring eight-fold since 1995.

The South East accounts for 13,010 properties worth more than é1million, while there are about 2,348 in the South West.

But only 243 homeowners in Wales are property millionaires, and there are just 354 homes valued at more than é1million in the North.

And the number of homes valued at more than é1million fell in East Anglia and the West Midlands during the year, dropping by just under 1 per cent to 1,594 in East Anglia, but falling by 31 pr cent in the West Midlands to 634.

Helen Shaw, group communications manager at Portman Building Society, said: "The boom in prices during the last 10 years has had a dramatic effect on personal wealth.

"If the rate of increase over the last 10 years were to continue, there would be over 1,000,000 property millionaires by 2018 and over 2,000,000 by 2020."

Tweet