JUST under nine properties costing more than a £1m were sold every day during the first quarter of the year, figures showed today.

The Land Registry said 795 properties were sold for at least seven figures during the first three months of the year, up from 760 during the last quarter of 2003.

At the same time, house prices in England and Wales were 14.06 per cent higher than during the same period of 2003, with the average cost of a home rising from £145,897 to £166,404 during the year.

All regions of England and Wales saw double digit rises, except Greater London where prices rose by 9.39 per cent and the South East, where they were 8.22 per cent higher.

The strongest gains were in Wales, where price jumps of 27.15 per cent pushed the average cost of a home up to £115,179, while the cost of a home rose by 24.55 per cent in the North, to average £102,330.

Rises were also strong in the North West and Yorkshire and Humberside, which both saw gains of just over 22 per cent during the year, lifting the average price of a property to £111,124 and £113,320 respectively.

In the East Midlands the cost of a property rose by 18.59 per cent, while in the West Midlands prices were 16.12 per cent higher, in East Anglia they rose by 13.13 per cent and in the South West they gained 12.72 per cent.

London remains the most expensive area with property at £262,685, while the North is cheapest at £102,330.

In terms of local authorities, prices are lowest in Merthyr Tydfil at £57,191, and Blaenau Gwent in Wales at £58,326.

Property is most expensive in Kensington and Chelsea, where it averages £734,756 and the City of Westminster at £452,987.

The Land Registry also said there had been a 12.27% increase in sales in England and Wales during the first three months of the year compared with the same period of 2003, with 243,914 poperties changing hands, while in Greater London sales were up by 14.19% at 32,448.