The number of homes in England and Wales valued at more than £1m has increased by nearly 200% in the last five years, according to Halifax Estate Agents.

The group said that there are now about 88,000 homes valued at more than £1m in England and Wales, up from just 30,000 five years ago.

Halifax Estate Agents also said 1,067 homes in England and Wales sold for more than £2m during the year to the end of June.

Nearly three-quarters of these sales were in London, but every region apart form Wales had at least one home that sold for £2m-plus.

Figures from the lender show a total of 6,170 properties in England and Wales sold for at least seven figures during the year to the end of June, compared with just 2,249 in the 12 months to June 2002.

More than half of all properties sold for at least £1m during the year were in London, although the capital's share of homes valued at seven figures is shrinking, dropping from 68% five years ago, as prices rise across the rest of the country.

About 6% of all homes sold for more than £1m were in the North, double the proportion seen five years earlier.

Overall a third of postcode districts in England and Wales had at least one property in them that sold for at least £1m, compared with only 17% in 2002.

Around 59% of districts in London and 57% in the South East had at least one of the sales, although this fell to just 15% outside of southern England.

Even so, the number of homes outside of the south of England selling for at least seven figures has more than doubled during the past two years alone to 393 homes.

Seven out of 10 sales of £1m homes were concentrated in just 5% of postcode districts, with SW3 in Chelsea in London seeing the highest number of sales, followed by SW7 in South Kensington, W8 in Kensington and SW6 in Chelsea.

Outside of London, Cobham in Surrey had the highest number of homes that sold for at least seven figures, while postcodes in Altrincham and Macclesfield had the highest number outside the south of England.

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