Last year set a record for sales above £5m in London, according to whole-market analysis from Savills.

The figures show sales of £5m-plus secondhand and new-build homes exceeded 600 for the first time in 2022, to achieve the highest figure (606) since Savills records began in 2006. The previous top-performing years were 2013, which saw 533 sales above £5m ahead of new stamp duty rates taking effect, and 2021 with 537 sales.

Over the course of 2022, the total value of £5m-plus transactions hit £6.57bn. This was 13% higher than in 2021, which was the previous record year for total spend, Savills said. An increase in the volume of sales was driven primarily by activity in the £10m-£20m range, which all but doubled (+99%) year on year, and was up by 32% on 2021.

On a location basis, 61% of secondhand sales took place in traditional prime central London hotspots, led by Chelsea (12.6%), Kensington (10.3%) and Knightsbridge (9.0%). However, the £5m-plus price tag is now increasingly being achieved in outer prime locations – including Clapham, Battersea, Bayswater and Putney – primarily driven by wider regeneration and redevelopment, the opening of new tube and Crossrail stations, and demand for larger family homes with more space inside and outside of the home.

In total, more than 50 London neighbourhoods saw activity in this price range in 2022, with the reach of this price tag likely grow even further in 2023, according to Savills.

“High value properties continue to outperform across the board as unique quality homes remain sought after by buyers, both domestic and overseas,” said Frances McDonald, research analyst at Savills. “These markets are driven more by flows of global equity and although not immune, they are dictated less by domestic economic volatility.

“Despite this, there were signs of the market easing slightly towards the back end of last year. In the final quarter, there just under 150 £5m-plus transactions, 6.4% lower than Q3, and 14.5% below Q4 2021, but still well above pre-pandemic norms. This slowing in activity was most evident in the £5m-£10m million price bracket, which is more exposed to domestic borrowing,” McDonald added.