Sales of £1m properties in northern England outperformed many other parts of the country in the first six months of 2017, Lloyds Bank data show.

The lender analysed Land Registry data for the first half of 2017 and found that while London still has easily the most prime property sales, accounting for eight in ten, the biggest increases in transactions were elsewhere.

Purchases of £1m properties in the north-west and Yorkshire & the Humber rose by 55% and 45% to 132 and 55 respectively, while the west midlands saw a 33% boost to 81 sales.

In contrast, London saw sales volumes of £1m-plus homes decline 7% to 4,238.

Overall, there was a 1% drop in the number of properties sold for more than £1m across Britain in the first six months of 2017, to 6,613.

Sarah Deaves, private banking director at Lloyds Bank, said: “In the first six months of 2017 we saw a modest decrease in the number of houses being sold for more than £1m, together with a fall in the average price of top-end homes.

“However, sales in northern England and the west midlands appear to have bucked the trend, with buyers making high-value purchases perhaps taking advantage of lower borrowing rates.

“There are several factors that could be responsible for the ongoing uncertainty in the market, including interest rates and economic stability and changes to Stamp Duty.

“With the Office for Budget Responsibility revising down forecasts for house prices and housing transactions, we expect this slowing to continue into the New Year. This could mean that it takes longer for people to sell a million pound property or find their new dream home.”