Cash house buyers usually pay less than your home would fetch on the open market. A 2013 study by the Office of Fair Trading found sellers typically gave up between 10% and 25% of market value.
Individual offers vary widely, and the OFT saw much higher discounts on occasion. The only way to know whether an offer works for you is to compare it with what your home is really worth.
How much do cash house buyers pay?
There is no fixed percentage, but the OFT’s range of 10% to 25% below market value is the best independent figure available.
What the OFT actually found
The figures come from the OFT’s 2013 study of the quick house sale sector. It also described a buyer working to a target figure, “for example 80 per cent” of market value, then adjusting for location and condition.
MoneyHelper, the government-backed money guidance service, refers to a discount of around 25% as what a quick sale company would usually ask for. It does not cite a source for that figure.
What that looks like in pounds
Readers usually want the number, not the percentage. The table applies the OFT’s 10% to 25% range to a few common values.
| If your home is worth | A 10% discount | A 25% discount | Likely range |
|---|---|---|---|
| £100,000 | £90,000 | £75,000 | £75,000 to £90,000 |
| £150,000 | £135,000 | £112,500 | £112,500 to £135,000 |
| £200,000 | £180,000 | £150,000 | £150,000 to £180,000 |
| £250,000 | £225,000 | £187,500 | £187,500 to £225,000 |
| £300,000 | £270,000 | £225,000 | £225,000 to £270,000 |
| £400,000 | £360,000 | £300,000 | £300,000 to £360,000 |
This is arithmetic on a 2013 finding, not a prediction. Treat it as the shape of the trade-off, and judge any real offer against real local evidence.
Why do cash buyers offer below market value?
A cash buyer takes on costs and risks you would otherwise carry, and needs to cover them and still make a profit.
What the discount covers
The OFT found that most buyers aim to resell for more than they paid, while some let the property out and sell later. Four things drive the gap.
- Resale costs. When the buyer sells, they pay legal fees, agent fees and moving costs, plus any refurbishment needed to reach a good price.
- Holding costs. While they own the home, they pay council tax, insurance, utilities and finance costs.
- Risk. Prices can fall, work can cost more than expected, and hidden defects appear.
- Profit. Buying property is their business, not a favour.
What you get in return
You get speed and more certainty: no chain, no buyer’s mortgage and a defined timetable. The government’s own home buying and selling reform roadmap reported in June 2026 that a transaction takes around 120 days on average and that around one in three fall through.
Whether that certainty is worth the difference is a decision only you can make. It is fine to decide it is not.
Is an individual cash buyer different from a buying company?
Yes, and the keyword hides two very different buyers. A person buying a home to live in usually pays far closer to the going rate than a company buying to resell.
Someone buying a home to live in
A cash buyer who intends to move in is competing with buyers who have mortgages. They may expect something off for the speed and the lack of a chain, but they are not pricing in a resale profit.
A company buying to resell or let
A company has a business model behind the offer: refurbish and resell, or let the property and sell later. The OFT’s 10% to 25% range describes this kind of buyer, not your neighbour’s cash purchase.
Our guide to how quick house sales work explains who does what in the sector, including brokers and introducers like us.
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Cash buyers usually offer less than full market value in return for speed and certainty. You are free to turn down any offer.
How do cash buyers work out their offer?
Most start with what similar homes nearby have actually sold for, then adjust for condition and for how easy the home would be to resell.
Comparable sales
The OFT found that firms use online valuation tools, sold price data and conversations with local estate agents. Some give a figure only after an inspection.
Condition and saleability
A visit or survey looks at the roof, damp, wiring, heating, kitchen and bathrooms, and anything a mortgage lender would refuse. A short lease, unusual construction or a problem with the title narrows the pool of future buyers, and the offer reflects that.
Our guide to hard-to-sell homes covers the specific problems that move an offer most.
How can you check whether an offer is fair?
Find out what your home would fetch on the open market, and how quickly, so you can see exactly what speed is costing you.
Get three agent valuations
MoneyHelper suggests getting valuations from three local estate agents so you can judge whether a quick sale offer is fair. Ask each one what price would sell within a month, as well as what it would fetch given time.
Check the sold prices yourself
GOV.UK’s sold house prices service uses HM Land Registry data for England and Wales. In Scotland use ScotLIS, and in Northern Ireland use Land and Property Services.
In Scotland you may already have a benchmark, because most homes need a Home Report before they are marketed and it includes a surveyor’s valuation.
Ask the four questions that matter
A reputable buyer will answer all four in writing.
- How did you reach the figure? Which comparable sales, and what adjustments.
- Is it conditional? Subject to survey, subject to contract, or final.
- What could change it, and when? Get the trigger and the deadline in writing.
- Who pays what? Legal fees, any survey fee, and anything deducted at completion.
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What does speed actually cost?
In a worked example on a £200,000 home, speed costs roughly £20,000 to £31,000 after fees and running costs.
The assumptions
The figures below are round, illustrative numbers to show the arithmetic, not a prediction of any offer or any agent’s result. We assume agent valuations and local sold prices point to about £200,000.
| Agent, normal marketing | Agent, priced to sell quickly | Cash buyer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sale price (illustrative) | £195,000 | £185,000 | £160,000 |
| Agent fee (1.42% including VAT) | about £2,800 | about £2,600 | none |
| Your legal fees | £1,500 | £1,500 | £0 to £1,500, varies by buyer |
| Running costs while you wait (£400 a month) | £1,600 (4 months) | £1,200 (3 months) | £400 (1 month) |
| Roughly what you keep | £189,100 | £179,700 | £158,100 to £159,600 |
The agent fee uses MoneyHelper’s figure for the average estate agent fee in 2026, 1.42% including VAT. The legal fee sits inside MoneyHelper’s £800 to £1,800 range for a sale.
The four-month wait reflects the government’s 120 day average, and the £160,000 price reflects the OFT’s 80% example. Your own figures could be very different.
What the example shows
For someone facing repossession, paying for an empty home, or unable to sell because lenders will not lend on the property, that cost may still be the right call. For someone with time and a mortgageable home, it usually is not.
If you want to compare real offers against your agent valuations, you can get offers for my home from vetted cash buyers on our panel. It is free, there is no obligation, and we never value your home or make an offer ourselves.
What should you do if the offer drops before exchange?
Late price cuts are the real risk, not the first offer. In the complaints the OFT received, drops ranged from 7% to 53% of the initial offer, averaging 22%.
Why it happens
Sometimes a survey genuinely finds something. Sometimes a buyer is testing whether a seller under pressure will accept less, and the OFT said cutting the price late without a valid reason could amount to an aggressive practice under consumer law.
In some of the cases the OFT saw, sellers were never shown the survey that supposedly justified the cut.
What to do, in order
- Ask for the reason in writing. The Property Ombudsman’s code for property buying companies requires members to confirm any change or withdrawal of an offer in writing.
- Ask to see the survey findings. Both the OFT and MoneyHelper say a buyer relying on a survey should show you what it found.
- Get your own quote for the work. A builder’s estimate is the fastest way to test whether a deduction is proportionate.
- Check what you signed. If there is an option or exclusivity agreement, read what it costs to walk away and whether a notice has been registered against your title.
- Go back to your agent valuations. The question is never whether the new offer is disappointing, but whether it still beats your alternative.
- Complain if the buyer is a member. If the buyer is registered with The Property Ombudsman, you can escalate, and the referral must be made within 12 months of the buyer’s final view.
What you still control
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland nothing is binding until contracts are exchanged, so you can refuse and walk away. In Scotland the sale becomes binding once missives are concluded, so the pressure point comes earlier.
Our guide to gazundering covers late price drops in more detail, including on open market sales.
When is a cash buyer the wrong choice?
If your home is in good condition, in an area where homes sell steadily, and you are not under time pressure, an estate agent will usually leave you with more.
If you have time
Our comparison of cash buyers, estate agents and auctions sets out the three routes side by side. MoneyHelper makes the point that the price cut needed to sell quickly through an agent may be smaller than the discount a quick sale company asks for.
If your home has been on the market for months without success, our guide to a house that is not selling covers what to try first.
If you are selling because of money worries
Free, impartial help is available from MoneyHelper, Citizens Advice and StepChange. If you are behind on your mortgage, your lender must consider other options before taking possession.
Our page on mortgage arrears and repossession explains where selling fits alongside those options.
Common questions
Will a cash buyer pay the asking price?
It is unlikely. Cash buyers generally offer less than a home would fetch on the open market, because they carry the costs and risks of reselling or letting it and want to make a profit. How far below depends on the property, its condition, the local market and the buyer.
What percentage of market value do cash house buyers pay?
There is no fixed percentage. A 2013 study by the Office of Fair Trading found that sellers who completed a quick house sale typically gave up between 10% and 25% of market value, and it used 80% of market value as an example of the figure a buyer might work to. The OFT also saw much higher discounts on occasion.
Can a cash buyer lower their offer after the survey?
Yes. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland nothing is binding until contracts are exchanged, so a buyer can reduce their offer before then. MoneyHelper suggests asking why, asking to see the survey findings, and waiting for a final offer in writing once surveys and legal checks are done.
How much did late price drops cost sellers who complained?
In the complaints the Office of Fair Trading received for its 2013 study, reductions after the survey ranged from 7% to 53% of the initial offer, averaging 22%. Those figures come from complaints, so they show what can go wrong rather than what is typical.
Do I pay any fees when I sell to a cash buyer?
You never pay Sell My Property Online anything. The OFT found that charging sellers fees was not common, and that some buyers paid some or all of the seller's legal costs if the sale completed. Ask each buyer to confirm in writing what their offer includes.
Why do offers from different buyers vary so much?
Each buyer has different costs, a different plan for the property and a different view of risk. One might intend to renovate and resell, another to let it out. Every valuation also involves judgement, so two buyers can look at the same home and reach quite different figures.
Is a cash buyer who wants to live in the house different?
Usually, yes. Someone buying a home to live in is competing with buyers who have mortgages, so they tend to bid near the going rate for the street. A company buying to resell or let needs a margin, which is where the larger discounts come from.
Does Sell My Property Online value my home or make the offer?
No. We introduce you to vetted cash buyers on our panel, and any valuation or offer comes from the buyer. We do not value homes, make offers or buy property.
Related guides
- Cash buyer vs estate agent vs auction: which suits you? Speed, price, certainty and fees compared across the main routes.
- What is gazundering, and how can you protect yourself? Last-minute price cuts: why they are legal and how to guard against them.
- How a quick house sale works, step by step Every step of a quick sale, from first enquiry to completion day.
- Selling a house that needs renovation Major work, fire, flood and damp damage, lenders, auctions and over-investing.