Singer’s £10 million Highgate home is reported to have been kept in the family as relatives plan the late star’s funeral, which is expected to take place in Highgate Cemetery

Ham & High: Flowers and tributes to the late star have been laid out on the green opposite The Grove, HighgateFlowers and tributes to the late star have been laid out on the green opposite The Grove, Highgate (Image: Archant)

George Michael’s Highgate home is rumoured to have been left to his older sister. An exclusive report in The Sun claimed Melanie Panayiotou, 55, has already moved in whilst she organises her brother’s funeral.

The value of the singer’s former home on The Grove, N6, is estimated to be £10 million.

The singer’s semi-detached house in the exclusive Highgate postcode was last recorded on the Land Registry in 2002, when it sold for £7,650,000.

A neighbouring eight bedroom home sold for just short of £9 million in 2015. Council Tax for the area falls in the H band, putting a hefty price on the property at £2,718.76 for Camden.

Anyone hoping to purchase a slice of north London pop culture history will be disappointed by the news the property is likely to stay in the family, although they can take comfort in the fact that at that price the stamp duty on the purchase would be more than a careless whisper.

At £10 million the levy would be £1,113,750 if it was a primary property, rising to £1,413,750 if it was a second home. Luckily for Ms Panayiotou, you don’t have to pay SDLT on an inherited property.

The funeral ceremony for the beloved performer is reportedly due to take place imminently. The singer-songwriter, who was 53 when he passed away on Christmas Day at his home in Oxfordshire, is expected to be laid to rest at nearby Highgate Cemetery alongside his mother.

The famous cemetery would be a suitable resting place for the artist whose other notable cultural and political figures include philosopher Karl Marx, Middlemarch novelist George Eliot and sex-pistols creator Malcolm McLaren.

Mr Michael was a great patron of the Highgate area. He anonymously paid for the Highgate Christmas tree and was the largest private sponsor of the local fair.

A report only last week concluded that Michael had passed away from natural causes, ending months of speculation. His house on The Grove has been shrouded in gifts, cards and farewell presents from his adoring fans since his death late last year.