One in 17 mortgages now worth £500,000 or more, Savills finds

The number of mortgages worth £500,000 or more has risen by 18% outside Southern England since 2021, despite higher borrowing costs, according to new research from Savills.

Analysis of FCA lending data shows that while London remains the largest market for mortgages of £500,000 or more, accounting for 42% of these loans in 2025, the number issued in the capital has fallen by 2.4% since 2021.

The South East has also recorded a decline of 2.3% over the same period.

In contrast, the number of mortgages worth £500,000 or more has increased by 17% in the Midlands and 16% in the North of England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have seen the largest combined increase, at 28%.

Across the UK, 62,391 mortgages of £500,000 or more were issued in 2025, representing 5.8% of all mortgage lending, or approximately one in every 17 mortgages.

This was 24% higher than in 2024, although volumes remain 9% below their 2022 peak.

Savills attributes the growth in larger mortgages to rising house prices and accumulated housing equity, which have increased borrowing requirements in areas where loans of this size were previously less common.

The increase has also come despite a rise in mortgage servicing costs. According to Savills, the annual cost of servicing a new £500,000 mortgage rose by 36%, from £25,100 in August 2021 to £34,100 in August 2026.

Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills, said: "The half-million-pound mortgage is no longer solely the preserve of buyers in London and the South East. While those markets still account for the largest share of high-value lending, growth over the past five years has increasingly come from elsewhere in the country as rising house prices and accumulated housing equity have enabled more households to take on larger loans.

"Despite higher borrowing costs, greater flexibility in affordability stress testing has helped more higher-earning households access mortgages of £500,000 and above. At the very top end of the market, private banks can often take a more flexible and innovative approach than mainstream lenders, broadening access to larger loans."