New research has revealed the areas with the largest changes in the percentage of properties bought outright in the UK.

The study, conducted by UK mortgage broker SPF.co.uk, utilised data from the HM Land Registry to compare the percentage of properties sold as cash sales in every local authority between 2013 and 2023. The focus was on the change in the portion of all sales that were cash purchases within the decade rather than the total number of properties bought in cash. The figures were then calculated for each local authority and ranked according to the regions with the largest changes.

The area with the largest increase is Inverclyde, with a 39.4% jump in the percentage of properties sold as cash. In 2013, 36% of all homes were bought outright, but this jumped to 50.1% last year. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the average house price here is £123,000, with first-time buyers paying £100,000 on average for their first properties as of April 2024. This latter figure is an increase of £10,000 compared to 2023.

Next in line, Hart in Hampshire follows suit with a 26.1% increase. In 2023, there were 379 properties bought in cash according to the Land Registry, equalling 33.5% of all property sales. According to the latest provisional data from the ONS, the average property here costs £467,000 – a huge 63% above the national average (£285,000 as of December 2023).