MORE than 160,000 new property millionaires have been created over the last year in Britain as the housing market recovery has taken off, according to a website.

Zoopla estimates that nearly half a million home owners can now call themselves property millionaires, at 484,081 in total. This figure is a 49% or 160,397 increase on a year ago.

It found that 12 streets now have average house prices of more than £10 million, all of which are in London, where competition from buyers has been particularly fierce.

Kensington Palace Gardens, which was once again named by Zoopla as Britain's most expensive street, now has an average property value of £42.7 million. The imposing mansions on this tree-lined street typically cost 162 times the value of the average British home at £263,705.

Sitting close to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's home at Kensington Palace, the road has earned the moniker the "boulevard of billionaires".

Kensington Palace Gardens has consistently been named by Zoopla as most expensive street in Britain since 2012, when it started doing the research.

The Boltons in Kensington was again named as the second most expensive street, where homes are worth £ 26.5 million on average.

Zoopla said that the 10 most expensive streets in Britain have seen property values surge by 12.9% over the last year, compared with an average annual increase of 6.6% across the rest of the country.

Outside the English capital, the most expensive street in Britain is Sunninghill Road in Surrey, where the average home is worth £5.6 million, Zoopla said.

The rapid growth in top-end property values over the last year has pushed the number of streets with an average property value of over £1 million up by almost one third over the last 12 months to £10,613. Some 3,744 of these million-pound streets are in London, which has continued to attract interest from wealthy overseas investors.

The most expensive street in Wales is Ty-Gwyn Avenue in Penylan, Cardiff, where the average property price is valued at £1,046,987, Zoopla said.

Meanwhile, Scotland's most expensive address is Balmoral Court, Gleneagles Village, Auchterarder, where the typical home is worth £2,032,726.

The North East's priciest road was named as Gubeon Wood in Morpeth, Northumberland, where houses cost £1,321,625 on average.

South Downs Drive in Hale, Altrincham, was named as the North West's most well-heeled street, with homes there worth around £2,417,839.

In the South West, Old Coastguard Road in Sandbanks, Poole, was named as the most expensive street in the region. A home in this exclusive address is worth £2,440,500 typically, according to the website.

Zoopla made its findings after using a formula to estimate the current market value of homes, using data from various sources, including the government, estate agents, surveyors and users of its website .

The website's spokesman Lawrence Hall said : "London boasts all of Britain's 20 priciest addresses. Prime properties in the capital have long been a magnet for the super-wealthy looking for a safe investment asset. For the lucky few who can afford these stratospheric price tags, the fabulous mansions on streets like Kensington Palace Gardens and the Boltons are offering very strong returns.

"However you don't need to be a billionaire to get a chance to own the creme de la creme of property on offer. In Wales and the North East, you can still snap up a prime property in the region's most desirable streets for little over £1 million."

Here are Britain's 10 most expensive streets according to Zoopla, with the average property value and the increase in value seen over the last year: 1. Kensington Palace Gardens, London W8, £42,730,706, 12.11% 2. The Boltons, London SW10, £26,570,341, 13.64% 3. Grosvenor Crescent, London SW1X, £22,293,470, 12.43% 4. Courtenay Avenue, London N6, £16,877,746, 13.67% 5. Ilchester Place, London W14, £11,853,515, 16.02% 6. Frognal Way, London NW3, £10,974,043, 8.38% 7. Carlyle Square, London SW3, £10,846,481, 14.14% 8. Montrose Place, London SW1X, £10,683,611, 12.43% 9. Cottesmore Gardens, London W8, £10,631,829, 12.11% 10. Manresa Road, London SW3, £10,362,420, 14.14% Here are Britain's 10 most expensive towns according to Zoopla, with the average property value and the increase in value seen over the last year: 1. Virginia Water, Surrey, £1,186,262, 5.91% 2. Cobham, Surrey, £1,003,400, 6.94% 3. Keston, London, £947,955, 10.81% 4. Esher, Surrey, £931,669, 10.08% 5. Richmond, Surrey, £906,770, 12.47% 6. Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, £897,872, 4.79% 7. Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire, £836,434, 0.47% 8. Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, £815,222, 9.38% 9. Radlett, Hertfordshire, £794,569, 14.21% 10. Weybridge, Surrey, £785,400, 6.96% Here are the areas with the highest concentrations of streets where properties are worth over £1 million, with the number of streets: 1. London, 3,744 2. Richmond, 226 3. Ascot, 160 4. Guildford, 151 5. Leatherhead, 128 6. Mitcham, 123 7. Woking, 113 8. Esher, 111 9. Sevenoaks, 108 10. Farnham, 104

© by Press Association 2014