The number of properties in the UK valued at more than £1 million has soared by some 20% in the last ten years, according to the Halifax million pound property report.

There are now some 66,000 properties in the UK worth more than £1 million, compared with just 3,400 in 1995.

However, London's proportion of million pound sales has fallen dramatically over the last decade, slipping from 79% of the national total to 58% in 2005 as the national housing market catches up with the capital. In 2005 there were 788 sales above £1 million outside London and the South East compared with only 22 in 1995: a 36-fold increase.

Outside London, the South East and East of England, Poole in Dorset has had the highest number of sales over £1 million since 1995 with 184 properties. Midlothian in Scotland (154 sales), Trafford in Greater Manchester (139 sales) and Macclesfield in Cheshire (103 sales) are the other areas outside London, the South East and the East of England with sales of more than 100 properties during this period.

Nevertheless, London continues to dominate the premium end of the housing market, with a third of all nationwide sales of £1 million properties taking place in two London boroughs: Kensington & Chelsea and City of Westminster.

During 1995-2005 Kensington & Chelsea (4,946 sales) and City of Westminster (3,070) accounted for 36% of all one million plus property sales nationally.

Martin Ellis, Chief Economist at the Halifax, commented: "Despite the substantial increase in £1 million sales over the past decade, such sales remain a tiny part of the market, accounting for only 0.4% of all sales in 2005. Even in London, where sales in this price bracket are far more frequent, £1 million sales represented only 2% of total property sales last year. "