Sales of £1m-plus homes in the Cotswolds have surged since lockdown, as affluent buyers look for more space and lifestyle change.

An average of 868 £1m-plus sales have been agreed each week since the beginning of June, 66 per cent higher than the weekly average of 522 over the same period in 2019, according to new data from TwentyCi and Savills, which has offices in Cheltenham, Cirencester and Stow-on-the-Wold.

Despite spring sales being all but lost due to lockdown - hitting a low of just 69 sales in the week ending 19th April - a total of 23,000 sales were agreed in the first three quarters of 2020, 16 per cent higher than in 2019.

Lucian Cook, Savills head of residential research, said: "This points to a rebalancing of the market between London and the rest of the country. Whereas sales in London rose by four per cent in the first nine months of the year, they are up 27 per cent across the rest of the UK, albeit London still accounts for over four in 10 sales with a £1m-plus price tag."

The South West has seen the biggest surge in demand, with sales of £1m-plus home rising by 38 per cent to a total of 2,022.

Charles Elsmore-Wickens, head of residential in the Cotswolds, said: "Lifestyle relocation has been a big theme in the market since lockdown began to ease, and this is very clearly reflected in the numbers. Relocation and staycation locations such as the Cotswolds (+94 per cent), South Oxfordshire (+78 per cent), Dorset (+69 per cent), Cornwall (+66 per cent) and Wiltshire (+66 per cent) have been standout performers."

Lucian Cook said: "By the year end we now expect the number of £1m-plus sales agreed to exceed 2019 volumes - a performance nobody could have anticipated in the depths of lockdown.

"For many the challenge is now in getting deals through to completion by Christmas, after which point eyes will be on beating the 31st March stamp duty holiday deadline, in order to benefit from the maximum £15,000 saving for those buying at this end of the market."