Inverclyde in Scotland has seen a 39.4% jump in the percentage of properties sold as cash in 10 years, jumping to over half (50.1%) in 2023, analysis from UK mortgage broker SPF.co.uk has found.
It helps that the area has a low average house price of £123,000, as first-time buyers paid £100,000 on average for their first properties in April 2024.
Mark Harris, chief executive of SPF.co.uk’s Private Clients, said: “Outside London, there has been a growing trend of cash purchases post-pandemic, perhaps due to the savings some people were able to build up during Covid and choosing to use these rather than opt for more expensive borrowing.”
In England Hart in Hampshire has seen the biggest increase of cash buyers, with a 26.1% rise to make up a third (33.5%) of sales in 2023.
This is despite the area having an expensive average property price of £467,000.
Similarly there’s been a 35.8% rise in cash buyers in Solihull in the West Midlands, with nearly a third (35.8%) of purchases being made with cash.
Property costs an average of £337,000 in Solihull, 47% more than nearby Birmingham’s average price of £228,000.
Cash sales have decreased overall, with ONS data showing 186,000 sales in England last year, down from 254,000 in 2013, likely due to higher property prices and a rising cost-of-living.
Where cash buyers are becoming rarer
At the other end of the spectrum, Harlow in Essex has seen the most significant decrease in the proportion of cash purchases between the two years, with a 44.9% fall.
Harlow’s average house costs £309,000. In 2013, cash purchases comprised 26.3% of all house properties, but in 2023 this fell to just 14.5%.
In second place is Barking and Dagenham, which saw a 41.4% decline. The London borough had one of the smallest chunks of properties bought in cash at just 9.8% last year, though this figure was already lower than most in 2013 at 16.7%.
Just 99 properties were bought in cash last year, and the average price sits at £330,000.
Thurrock takes third place after seeing the percentage of cash sales drop from 21% in 2013 to 12.5% in 2023, a 40.5% decrease.
As it stands, the region saw 172 houses bought outright last year, compared to 442 in 2013, and ONS data reports that the average house costs £303,000.
Harris added: “With properties in London and the south-east costing significantly more than elsewhere, they tend to be unaffordable for certain cash buyers such as retirees who prefer to own outright.
“Economic uncertainties and market fluctuations have also made investors more cautious, driving them away from the capital.
“Additionally, the shift to remote working for many has further encouraged people to live outside major cities, with investors looking at alternative regions.”