How a quick sale works in Chatham
A cash sale trades some of the price for speed and certainty: no chain, no mortgage valuation and no months on the market. Here is how it works through us.
- Tell us about your home. The postcode, the type of property, roughly what it is worth and how quickly you need to sell.
- We match you with buyers who buy in Medway. Vetted investors, consortiums and funds who buy homes like yours, and only with your consent.
- A buyer contacts you. They will usually look at recent sales near you and may visit before putting an offer in writing.
- You decide. If you accept, your own solicitor handles the sale. Completion can be possible in as little as 7 days in some cases; most sales take longer. Timing depends on the buyer, your solicitor, searches, any mortgage to repay and whether you need probate or a leasehold pack.
In England, a sale becomes legally binding when contracts are exchanged. Until then either side can pull out, which is why a buyer with funds ready and a quick-acting solicitor matters so much.
Chatham house prices
According to the UK House Price Index, the average price paid for a home in Medway, the council area that includes Chatham was £296,182 in June 2026. That is up 1.1% on a year earlier.
That puts local prices 22% below the South East average of £380,380, and prices have risen faster than across South East as a whole (+0.3%).
Of the 328 towns and cities we cover, Medway is the 125th most expensive on average price. Around 29 homes changed hands for every 1,000 households in the latest 12 months of sales data, about the same as the typical area on our list (31). A busier market usually means more recent sales for a buyer to compare your home against. Terraced houses, the most common kind of home here, averaged £273,509.
Average price in Medway
Show the figures as a table
| Month | Average price |
|---|---|
| December 2016 | £228,244 |
| December 2017 | £242,114 |
| December 2018 | £245,439 |
| December 2019 | £238,465 |
| December 2020 | £250,994 |
| December 2021 | £273,357 |
| December 2022 | £301,693 |
| December 2023 | £289,309 |
| December 2024 | £287,949 |
| December 2025 | £294,138 |
| June 2026 | £296,182 |
Average price by property type
| Type | Medway | Change in a year | South East |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £531,901 | +0.1% | £684,369 |
| Semi-detached | £351,457 | +1.7% | £415,568 |
| Terraced | £273,509 | +1.8% | £325,638 |
| Flats and maisonettes | £167,976 | -1.5% | £208,369 |
Detached homes are the most expensive at £531,901 on average, and flats and maisonettes the least expensive at £167,976. Over the past year, terraced houses have seen the strongest change (+1.8%) and flats and maisonettes the weakest (-1.5%).
Cash buyers in Medway paid £287,542 on average in June 2026, 3% less than buyers with a mortgage (£297,904). This compares all cash purchases with all mortgaged ones, so it reflects the kinds of homes each group buys. It is not a guide to what a quick-sale buyer would offer.
HM Land Registry recorded 3,229 sales in Medway in the 12 months from May 2025 to April 2026.
These are averages across Medway. To see what homes on your own street sold for, search HM Land Registry's house price records on GOV.UK.
Homes in Chatham
Chatham grew around the Royal Dockyard, founded in the reign of Elizabeth I, and many streets of Victorian terraces run between the High Street and Luton village. The south of the town was mostly farms and woodland until the 20th century, and after the Second World War the Medway towns spread south as Walderslade, Lordswood, Hempstead and Wigmore were developed. Since the dockyard closed in 1984, part of St Mary's Island has become a marina and the rest is being developed for homes and businesses as Chatham Maritime.
According to the 2021 Census, 66% of households in Medway own their home (31% outright and 35% with a mortgage), 20% rent privately and 14% rent from a council or housing association. The most common type of home is terraced houses (38% of households), followed by semi-detached houses (31%).
Much of the old yard is preserved as the Chatham Historic Dockyard, the most complete dockyard of the Age of Sail in the world, and the Royal Engineers are still based at Brompton Barracks. Charles Dickens lived in the town as a boy, and today Medway is home to Universities at Medway, with the Waterfront bus station at the centre of local bus routes.
Chatham station has trains to London Victoria and Charing Cross and high-speed services to St Pancras, and the M2 runs south of the Medway towns.
Areas covered in Medway
- Town centre
- Luton
- Walderslade
- Lordswood
- Brompton
- Chatham Maritime
- St Mary's Island
- Rochester
- Gillingham
- Strood
- Rainham
- Hoo St Werburgh
Selling quickly in Chatham: what to know
Medway is several towns that run into one another, so say whether you are in central Chatham, near the Maritime and dockyard, or in the southern estates such as Walderslade, and give the distance to Chatham station.
- Gather the tenancy paperwork if the home is let. Private renting is more common in Medway (20% of households) than in the typical area we cover. Investors often buy with tenants in place, and they will want the tenancy agreement, deposit protection details and safety certificates. Selling a rental property.
- Work out your figures before you talk to buyers. Recent sold prices on your street and a mortgage redemption figure from your lender tell you what an offer really means for you.
- Instruct a solicitor early. Having your own independent solicitor ready, with ID and paperwork to hand, is one of the biggest factors in how fast a sale completes. The documents you need.
- Check the buyer. Ask for proof of funds and redress scheme membership, never pay an upfront fee, and be wary of a big price cut just before exchange. How to spot a rogue buyer.
Chatham postcodes covered
You can send details for a home in any of these postcode districts in Medway. We pass them only to buyers on our panel who cover your postcode.
- ME1
- ME2
- ME3
- ME4
- ME5
- ME7
- ME8
- ME9
Your situation
Guidance for the reasons people in Chatham most often need to sell quickly.
Selling a house in Chatham: common questions
How much is my house worth in Chatham?
The average price in Medway, the council area that includes Chatham was £296,182 in June 2026 (UK House Price Index). By type, averages were: detached houses £532,000, semi-detached houses £351,000, terraced houses £274,000, flats and maisonettes £168,000. Your own home could be worth more or less depending on its size, condition and street. You can check what nearby homes sold for on GOV.UK, and a buyer will look at recent sales close to you before making an offer.
How quickly can I sell my house in Chatham?
Completion can be possible in as little as 7 days in some cases, where a cash buyer has funds ready, the title is straightforward and both solicitors can act quickly. Most sales take longer. Timing depends on the buyer, your solicitor, searches, any mortgage to repay and whether you need probate or a leasehold pack.
Will a cash buyer in Chatham pay full market value?
Usually not. Quick-sale buyers price in their costs, risk and profit, so offers are normally below what a home would fetch on the open market given time. To put that in local terms, on a home worth the Medway average of £296,000, every 5% below market value is about £15,000. Compare any offer with an estate agent's valuation before you decide.
Which Chatham postcodes can I get offers for?
You can send details for any home in Medway, including ME1, ME2, ME3, ME4, ME5, ME7, ME8, ME9 postcode districts. We only pass your details to buyers on our panel who cover your postcode, and only with your consent.
Nearby areas
- Sell your house fast in Maidstone
- Sell your house fast in Gravesend
- Sell your house fast in Sittingbourne
- Sell your house fast in Canvey Island
- Sell your house fast in Grays
- Sell your house fast in Dartford
More towns in the South East All 328 towns and cities we cover
Sources and how we built this page
House prices, price changes, cash and mortgage averages and sales volumes come from the UK House Price Index, published by HM Land Registry with the ONS, Registers of Scotland and Land and Property Services Northern Ireland, for Medway, the council area that includes Chatham, latest month June 2026. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Household figures: ONS Census 2021, TS054 and TS044. Postcode districts: ONS Postcode Directory via postcodes.io.
Local background: Wikipedia: Chatham, Kent, Wikipedia: Medway.
Local council: Medway Council.