Home sales lawyers who handle residential conveyancing in areas of the UK where there are high-value homes, such as central London, may not be surprised to see the results of a survey which suggest there has been a doubling in the number of properties worth more £1m sold in the past year.

From January to June 2010, a total of 2,992 homes changed hands for a seven-figure sum, which was 118% more than the equivalent six months in 2009, although the number was still 18% lower than the first half of 2007.

The Halifax survey says that, with an estimated 170,000 houses and flats throughout the country valued at one million pounds-plus, transactions involving them still only represent 0.9% of contracts which are formalised through property solicitors annually.

London had the greatest percentage of high-value property sales with 4.5% of all residential conveyancing, while adding in the south east of England, which includes the Brighton area, it was reported that nine out of ten of the most expensive purchases were in the region.

A spokesman for Halifax, Martin Ellis, said, "The increase reflects both strong demand from wealthy foreign buyers looking to benefit from the weakness in sterling and the relatively strong performance of the housing market in London and the South East over the past year."

Homes in Hampstead, Kensington, Chelsea and other up-market areas of the city have defied the property market gloom in the rest of the country, mainly because of the number of international buyers who are attracted by the strength of the pound and see their investment as secure.

Other parts of the UK where home sales lawyers have processed increasing numbers of property sales in the million-plus bracket were the West Midlands, which was up by 127%, the South East (excluding London) at 112% and East Anglia at 100%.