Prime house price growth in Britain reaches a 1-year high

Price growth among Britain’s most expensive homes hits a 10-year high and prime Cotswolds property values surge by nearly a QUARTER

  • Value of ‘prime’ properties grew 9.3% in 2021, according to Savills
  • This was the biggest annual rise since 2010, the high-end estate agent said
  • Cotswolds, Devon and Cornwall and Surrey were the hottest markets
  • Prime Central London homes rose 2% as buyers flocked away from cities


The value of a home in the prime price bracket outside London grew more in 2021 that at any point in the past decade, with prices in the Cotswolds alone rising nearly a quarter.

‘Prime’ homes are those which make up the top 5 to 10 per cent of the housing market by value and are generally worth £2million or more.  

Price growth among these properties reached 9.3 per cent in 2021, the biggest annual rise since 2010, according to high-end estate agent Savills.

Castle Combe in the Cotswolds. Prime house prices in the area have increased 23% in 2021

Growth ranged from 7.5 per cent in the Midlands and North to 10.4 per cent across the wider South, and 11.4 per cent for the suburban markets of London’s commuter belt.

Prime homes in the Cotswolds saw their value surge by an astonishing 23.4 per cent over the year, as buyers looked to relocate further away from cities and find more space during the pandemic.

The Cotswolds market was also boosted by those looking for second homes.

Coastal areas also witnessed huge price rises, with Devon and Cornwall recording average price growth of 15.6 per cent in 2021. Savills said this was due to high demand and a shrinking supply of homes.

Port Isaac in Cornwall. Coastal areas saw huge price increases in the prime market in 2021, with the price of a home in Devon or Cornwall typically increasing by nearly 16%

Port Isaac in Cornwall. Coastal areas saw huge price increases in the prime market in 2021, with the price of a home in Devon or Cornwall typically increasing by nearly 16%

The home counties also proved popular with well-heeled property buyers in 2021.

Homes worth £2million-plus increased in value by 12.9 per cent over the year, and in St George’s Hill, a private gated estate in Surrey, they spiked by more than a fifth (21.8 per cent).

However, Savills said prices there remained 5.3 per cent below what they were five years ago as the market ‘transition[ed] to more domestic buyers who value the space and proximity to London.’

The UK's prime regional markets all saw substantial price increases in 2021 as a whole

The UK’s prime regional markets all saw substantial price increases in 2021 as a whole

Savills’ Frances Clacy said: ‘In these markets, the rarity factors – whether a rarely available type of property, the most sought after locations, or simply the very best view – have combined with high levels of buyer demand and wealth, to create pockets of extremely strong market conditions.

‘New buyer numbers over the past month are running 1.5 times higher than at the same time in the two years pre pandemic, suggesting that these trends will carry through into the early part of next year, at least.’

In London, prime properties saw only marginal price increases as the capital’s housing market continued to record lacklustre growth.

Some people chose to move away from the city during the pandemic, as they did not need to be in the office as often and wanted more space.  

In central London, £2million-plus homes increased in value by just 2 per cent in 2021, while prime outer London homes increased by 3.7 per cent.

Only larger homes and leafier parts of west and south west London came close to the levels of house price growth seen in other prime markets.

There was more demand for large homes, too, and the price of a six or more-bedroom house in southwest London rose by 9.1 per cent in the year.

Savills is predicting a bounce-back in central London in 2022, however. Its forecast for prime central London is for 8 per cent price growth in 2022 and 23.9 per cent over the next five years.

Savills is predicting a Central London bounce-back in 2022 with prices set to grow by 8%

Savills is predicting a Central London bounce-back in 2022 with prices set to grow by 8%

This is the strongest level of growth it is predicting for any prime UK housing market.

It predicted that prime homes in the south of England excluding London would increase by 4 per cent in 2022, as would those in the Midlands, North and Scotland.

According to the latest Halifax house price index, prices across all UK homes increased by 8 per cent in 2021, up from 6 per cent in 2020. 

The typical home now costs £272,992 compared to £252,235 a year ago, but the mortgage lender predicted that house prices may only inch up by 1 per cent or £2,700 in 2022.

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