"Cash is always king when it comes to pretty much any transaction and this doesn’t change just because you’re buying a house."
Falkirk is home to the best cash bargains in Britain with cash sales seeing a 24% discount compared to mortgage funded purchases. North Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire (-21%) are also home to some of the biggest differences, with Hartlepool seeing the biggest cash discount in England at (-21%).
Properties bought with cash go for 12% less in the North East and North West, while London is the only region where cash will cost you more - 6% more than the average price paid by a mortgage buyer.
In London, Sutton is the best borough for a cash buyer with an average price of £346,516 compared to £382,100 - a 9% reduction.
Redbridge, Enfield. Bexley and Harrow also rank high for cash discounts, while Merton is home to an average cash property price some 7% higher than the average mortgage purchase price, along with Westminster.
Founder and CEO of GetAgent, Colby Short, commented: “Cash is always king when it comes to pretty much any transaction and this doesn’t change just because you’re buying a house. In fact, it becomes even more pertinent.
"Cash buyers are preferable to many sellers because they provide a much simpler transaction with fewer hoops to jump through and often come without a complicated chain. The flip side of this convenience is that cash buyers have a far stronger position when it comes to negotiations and often sellers will accept a more sizeable reduction for the speed and convenience of a cash sale.
While this is nothing new, it has become more prevalent in recent times due to a few factors.
"Brexit uncertainty over the last year has left many on the fence and so those that are looking to sell have had to do so with a lower price expectation due to a dwindling level of buyer interest. Therefore, finding the golden ticket of a cash buyer with honest intentions in a market slowdown has prompted an even greater tendency to sell with a greater cash discount in order to get a sale over the line.
"At the other end of the transaction scale, the continued affordability of borrowing money due to low interest rates has seen many aspirational buyers commit to a greater sum than they may have otherwise.
"Of course, the cat and mouse game of a lower bid during the offer stage happens regardless of how a buyer may be funded, but with mortgage buyers already starting at a higher price point in terms of the sum they’ve been approved for, the final price paid has been greater than it may have been in different circumstances.”
