Top 1pc soar as rest of us property sales stutter

Sales of US homes are stuttering in 2014, but one part of the market is soaring ahead: the top of it.

Sales of the priciest 1 per cent of homes have jumped 21.1 per cent this year following a rise a 35.7 per cent in 2013.

For the other 99 per cent, though, things are less rosy: sales hvae slumped 7.6 per cent in 2014 so far,as wage and job growth have failed to keep up with rising house prices, leaving the non-wealthy unable to afford a property.