Cash Property Purchases UK Regions with the Most Significant Changes

• A recent study has identified the UK regions with the most notable increases and decreases in cash property purchases since 2013, based on HM Land Registry data of outright sales.

• Inverclyde experienced the most significant rise, with a 39.4% increase in cash purchases since 2013, reaching 50.1% of all sales in 2023.

• Conversely, Harlow saw the largest decline, with a 44.9% decrease in cash property purchases between 2013 and 2023.

New research has highlighted the UK regions with the most notable changes in the proportion of properties purchased outright.

Conducted by UK mortgage broker SPF.co.uk, the study used HM Land Registry data to analyze the shift in the percentage of cash property sales across various local authorities from 2013 to 2023. Rather than focusing on the total number of cash purchases, the research examined the changes in the share of all sales that were cash transactions, ranking regions by the extent of these shifts.

• Inverclyde experienced the largest increase, with a 39.4% rise in the percentage of properties bought with cash. In 2013, 36% of homes were bought outright, and this figure surged to 50.1% in 2023. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reports that the average house price in Inverclyde is £123,000, with first-time buyers paying an average of £100,000 as of April 2024—an increase of £10,000 from the previous year.
• Hart in Hampshire saw a 26.1% increase, with cash purchases making up 33.5% of all property sales in 2023. The average property price here is £467,000, which is 63% higher than the national average of £285,000 as of December 2023.
• Solihull in the West Midlands recorded a 25.4% rise, with cash sales representing 35.8% of all property transactions in 2023, up from 28.6% in 2013. The average property price in Solihull is £337,000, 47% above Birmingham’s average of £228,000.
• Rushcliffe, located southwest of Nottingham, saw a 22.9% increase. Last year, 36.2% of properties were bought outright compared to 29.5% in 2013. The average house price is £346,000, with first-time buyers paying around £275,000. Despite the rise in percentage, the number of cash purchases remained relatively stable (596 in 2013 to 568 in 2023).
• Redcar and Cleveland experienced a 21.9% increase, with 40.7% of properties sold outright in 2023. The average house price is £158,000, and first-time buyers spend about £141,000. The area saw 682 outright property purchases last year.

In sixth place is the City of Aberdeen, where the proportion of cash property purchases increased by 21.3% between 2013 and 2023. The average house price in Aberdeen stands at £126,000, while first-time buyers typically pay around £105,000. Last year, Aberdeen saw 1,445 properties bought with cash, marking it as a prominent area for cash buyers.

Kensington and Chelsea secure the seventh position, having experienced a 21.2% rise in cash sales. As one of the UK’s wealthiest areas, the average house price here is £1.11 million. In 2023, cash transactions accounted for 59.5% of all sales, with 855 properties purchased outright.

Eighth place goes to Gateshead in Tyne and Wear, where there was a 21% increase in the proportion of cash property purchases. The average house price in Gateshead is £157,000, and last year, 681 properties were bought with cash.

The City of London ranks ninth, showing a 20.3% rise in cash sales. Although the total number of cash transactions has decreased since 2013, the proportion of cash purchases was 59.7% in 2023, compared to 49.7% a decade earlier. House prices in the City of London are reported at £888,000 by Rightmove and £1.07 million by Zoopla.

Na h-Eileanan Siar, located in the Outer Hebrides of northwest Scotland, rounds out the top ten with a 20% increase in cash sales. In 2023, 53.6% of properties were bought outright, up from 44.7% in 2013.

Conversely, Harlow in Essex saw the most significant decrease, with a 44.9% drop in cash purchases. The average house price in Harlow is £309,000. In 2013, 26.3% of sales were cash transactions, but this fell to just 14.5% in 2023.

Barking and Dagenham experienced a 41.4% decline, with only 9.8% of properties bought with cash last year, down from 16.7% in 2013. The average price of a property here is £330,000, and just 99 properties were purchased outright in 2023.

Thurrock saw a 40.5% reduction in cash sales, with the proportion dropping from 21% in 2013 to 12.5% in 2023. The average house price in Thurrock is £303,000, and last year, 172 houses were bought with cash compared to 442 in 2013.

Slough reported a 39.7% decrease, with only 92 properties bought with cash in 2023. The average house price in Slough is currently £330,000.

Luton experienced a 35.2% reduction in cash purchases, with cash transactions making up 16.5% of all sales last year. The average house price in Luton is £270,000, and 247 properties were purchased outright in 2023.

Continuing the trend in the South, Crawley in West Sussex ranks sixth, experiencing a 30.8% drop in cash property sales. Last year, cash purchases represented 14.6% of all property transactions in the area. The average house price in Crawley is reported to be £308,000.

Following closely is Medway in Kent, which saw a 30.5% decrease in cash transactions. The average house price here is £285,000, with first-time buyers expected to spend around £256,000. In 2023, cash purchases made up 19.1% of all property sales.

Stevenage in Hertfordshire comes in eighth place, with a 30.3% decline in cash purchases. The number of properties bought with cash last year was 130, exactly half of the 260 cash transactions recorded a decade ago. The average property price in Stevenage is £330,000, and cash sales constituted 17.2% of all purchases last year.

Waltham Forest, known for being one of the more affordable London boroughs, ranks ninth with a 28.7% reduction in cash property purchases since 2013. First-time buyers in the area paid an average of £452,000, while the overall average house price stands at £478,000 according to ONS data.

Completing the list is Swindon, which saw a 28.4% decline in cash sales. Only 558 properties, or 20.7% of all sales, were bought with cash last year. The average house price in Swindon is currently £258,000.

Mark Harris, Chief Executive of SPF.co.uk’s Private Clients, commented on the findings: “Post-pandemic, there has been an uptick in cash purchases outside London, likely due to savings accrued during the COVID-19 pandemic, with individuals opting to use these funds rather than incur higher borrowing costs. However, overall cash sales have decreased, with ONS data showing a drop from 254,000 sales in 2013 to 186,000 last year. This decline may be attributed to rising property prices and the increased cost of living, which reduce disposable income.

“Properties in London and the South-East are considerably more expensive, often making them unaffordable for certain cash buyers, such as retirees who prefer to purchase outright. Economic uncertainties and market fluctuations have made investors more cautious, leading them away from the capital. Additionally, the shift towards remote working has encouraged many to relocate outside major cities, prompting investors to explore alternative regions.”