Cash buyers are set to account for around a third of Britain’s house sales this year, according to property website Zoopla.
This 32% proportion of people buying homes without taking out a mortgage is up from an average of a fifth, or 20%, between 2017 and 2022.
Though such buyers are traditionally thought to be wealthier, Zoopla said many also tend to have bought homes on the cheaper-end of the scale.
Homes purchased alongside a mortgage average £304,000, Zoopla explained, while those bought with cash typically sit just below £275,000.
Mortgage rates themselves have soared this year on the back of continuous hikes to Britain’s base interest rate by the Bank of England.
Though subsiding inflation has led to consensus that rates will fall in the new year, the rise in interest has hit the housing market this year as prospective buyers reel from expensive mortgages.
“The housing market has been more resilient than many expected over 2023 but it hasn’t been a surprise to us,” Zoopla executive director Richard Donnell said.
“Mortgage regulations introduced in 2015 have stopped an over-valuation of housing which is why the decline in house prices has been modest over the year.
“House price falls have been concentrated in the South and Midlands while prices are still slightly higher over the year in Scotland and Northern Ireland.”
Zoopla forecast house prices to fall by a further 2% over the coming year, given properties “still look expensive” by historic standards.