HOME-BUYERS in East Renfrewshire are getting some of the best deals in the UK by paying cash instead of mortgages, according to new data.

Figures show the area has the fifth biggest discount, with a 19 per cent gap between average cash prices for properties versus average mortgage prices.

Estate agent comparison site GetAgent.co.uk said the average cash price was £194,172 but the mortgage average was £240,863.

In neighbouring Renfrewshire, the gap is 21 per cent but is based on lower prices overall. The cash average there was £103,098, compared to a mortgage average of £129,729.

Falkirk had the biggest discount of 24 per cent by paying cash. London had the opposite problem, with the cash price for homes being more than the mortgage price.

Scotland overall had an 11 per cent gap between the average prices.
Colby Short, founder and CEO of the estate agent website, said: “Cash buyers are preferable to many sellers because they provide a much simpler transaction with fewer hoops to jump through and often come without a complicated chain.

“The flip side is that cash buyers have a far stronger position when it comes to negotiations and often sellers will accept a more sizeable reduction for the speed and convenience of a cash sale.”

Brexit uncertainty is said to have left many home-buyers on the fence, with those looking to sell having to settle for lower prices.

Mr Short added: “Finding the golden ticket of a cash buyer with honest intentions in a market slowdown has prompted an even greater tendency to sell with a greater cash discount.

“The continued affordability of borrowing money due to low interest rates has seen many aspirational buyers commit to a greater sum than they may have otherwise.”