Homesellers compromising £150,000 for cash sale

New research has revealed that homebuyers are willing to cut their asking price expectations by as much as £150,000. This is to attract a cash buyer for a smoother sale, in what remains a frantic property market.

We looked at current property listings across the major property portals, analysing the listed asking prices of sellers willing to deal with cash buyers, and comparing with the rest of the market.

Our analysis shows that those wanting a cash buyer only listed for an average asking price of £186,768, while across the rest of the market the asking price was £256,373 on average. This is a substantial difference of almost £70,000 (-27%) for those ready to purchase with cash versus those funding their transaction with a mortgage.

Where are the biggest cash buyer discounts?

The city with the biggest cash buyer discounts currently available on the market are in London. With the average asking price for homes listed for sale currently valued at £486,931, whereas those looking for a cash buyer are listing at an average asking price of £335,680. This equals a massive saving of £151,250 for those paying with cold hard cash.

Other areas where cash buyers are able to secure substantial discounts include the South East, where the average home advertised for cash buyers is only listed for £82,690 less than the average asking price.

The discount also sits at almost £70,000 in the South West (£69,063) and East of England (£68,945).

The lowest reduction is in the North East- where a cash buyer can get a discount of £35,599. At 32%, this is the highest percentage reduction in asking price for a cash buyer of all regions in Britain.

Sellers seem willing to lower asking prices - GetAgent CEO Colby Short

“Although the market has showed signs of cooling after what has been a manic pandemic property boom, the current landscape is still frantic, to say the least, and there remains a very high level of buyers looking to transact.

As a result, sellers are still accepting offers at an alarming speed, but there remains some lengthy delays when it comes to getting a sale through to completion.

One way of bypassing this to an extent is with a cash buyer and it seems as though some sellers are willing to dramatically lower their asking price in order to secure this easier path to completion.”

Data and Methodology