How much do cash house buyers pay?

Cash house buyers usually pay less than your home would sell for on the open market: the Office of Fair Trading found that sellers typically gave up between 10% and 25% of market value, and MoneyHelper describes a discount of around 25% as what a quick sale company would usually ask for. Individual offers vary widely, and some are much lower, so the only way to know whether an offer works for you is to compare it with what your home is really worth.

The OFT figures come from its 2013 study of the quick house sale sector, and it noted that it had seen much higher discounts on occasion. They are a guide to the trade-off, not a prediction of any offer you will receive.

Why do cash buyers offer below market value?

A cash buyer is taking on costs and risks that you would otherwise carry, and needs to cover them and still make money. The OFT found that most buyers aim to resell for more than they paid, while some let the property out and sell later. The discount reflects four things.

Resale costs. When the buyer sells, they pay their own legal fees, estate 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 can appear.
Profit. Buying property is their business.

In return, you get speed and more certainty: no chain, no buyer’s mortgage and a defined timetable. Whether that is worth the difference is a decision only you can make, and it is fine to decide it is not.

How do cash buyers value a property?

Most buyers start with comparable sales: what similar homes nearby have actually sold for. The OFT found that firms use online valuation tools, sold price data and conversations with local estate agents, and some only give a figure after an inspection.

Condition comes next. A visit or survey looks at the roof, damp, wiring, heating, kitchen and bathrooms, and anything that would put off a mortgage lender. Then comes saleability. A short lease, unusual construction or a legal problem with the title narrows the pool of future buyers, and the offer usually reflects that. Our guide to hard-to-sell homes explains why.

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Tell us about the property in 2 minutes. Vetted buyers, individuals and institutions, reply with offers.

Cash buyers usually offer less than full market value in return for speed and certainty. You are free to turn down any offer.

How can you judge whether an offer is fair?

The key is to find out what your home would fetch on the open market, and how quickly, so you can see exactly what speed would cost.

Get valuations from local estate agents. MoneyHelper suggests three, so you can check whether a quick sale offer is fair. You could also ask what price the agents think would sell quickly.
Check 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, Land and Property Services.
Ask how the buyer reached their figure. A reputable buyer should be able to explain it.
Check the conditions. Is the offer subject to survey? What could change it, and when?
Look at the net figure. Compare what you would actually receive after fees, not just the headline price.

In Scotland you may already have a benchmark. Most homes need a Home Report before they are marketed, and it includes a surveyor’s valuation.

MoneyHelper makes a useful point here. You might find that the price cut needed for a quick sale through an estate agent is smaller than the discount a quick sale company would usually ask for. It is worth checking before you decide.

A worked example (illustrative figures only)

The figures below are round, made-up numbers to show the arithmetic. They are not a prediction of what any buyer would offer or any agent would achieve. We assume agents’ valuations and local sold prices suggest the home is worth around £200,000.

	Estate agent, normal marketing	Estate agent, priced to sell quickly	Cash buyer
Sale price (illustrative)	£195,000	£185,000	£160,000
Agent fee (illustrative, 1.42%)	about £2,800	about £2,600	none
Your legal fees (illustrative)	£1,500	£1,500	£0 to £1,500, varies by buyer
Running costs while you wait (illustrative, £400 a month)	£2,000 (5 months)	£1,200 (3 months)	£400 (1 month)
Roughly what you keep	£188,700	£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 within MoneyHelper’s range of £800 to £1,800 for a sale. The five-month wait reflects GOV.UK’s average for a sale. The £160,000 cash price reflects the OFT’s example of an offer at 80% of market value. Your own figures could be very different.

In this example, speed costs roughly £20,000 to £30,000. For someone facing repossession, paying for an empty home, or unable to sell because lenders will not lend on the property, that may still be the right call. For someone with time, it may not be.

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Watch out for late price reductions

The biggest risk is not the first offer but a lower one later. The OFT saw price drops of between 7% and 53% of the initial offer in the complaints it received, averaging 22%. In some cases sellers were never shown the survey that supposedly justified the cut.

MoneyHelper suggests asking why an offer has changed, asking to see the survey findings, and waiting until surveys and legal checks are done and you have a final offer in writing. Our guide to gazundering explains your options if the price drops just before exchange.

When might a cash buyer not be the right 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 may well leave you with more money. Our comparison of cash buyers, estate agents and auctions sets out the differences. And 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 would like to compare real offers with your agents’ valuations, you can get offers for my home from vetted cash buyers on our panel. It is free, there is no obligation to accept, and we never value your home or make an offer ourselves.

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.

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 and asking to see the survey findings, and waiting for a final offer in writing once surveys and legal checks are done.

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.

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.