THE number of property millionaires in Britain rose by 6% during 2010 – but was halved in Yorkshire and Humber, latest figures reveal.

Figures from property search website Zoopla.uk showed the number of UK properties worth £1m or more rose by 12,811 – the equivalent of 35 new property millionaires being created every day.

It means that 226,344 – or one in 118 homes – are now worth £1m or more. That compares with a peak of one in 97 in 2007.

But the gap between north and south widened – with the biggest gains seen in London, the south-east and eastern England and the biggest losses in Yorkshire and Wales.

London and the South East grew by 11.1% and 11.9% respectively – making those regions home to four out of every five million-pound properties in Britain. London alone accounts for more than half the national total at 54%.

Scotland saw its property millionaire ranks fall by 13.7% and the number of Welsh property millionaires fell by a staggering 48.8% with Yorkshire at a similar level.

Nick Leeming, of Zoopla.co.uk, said: “The north versus south wealth divide is now starker than ever.

“Property values have recovered well at the top end of the property market, but the rest of the market and particularly the north have seen a steep decline in high-end property values.

“The prime market in the south has been impacted far less by the mortgage squeeze as a result of the inflow of foreign money and the strength in the City keeping demand for million pound pads at peak levels.”