How much do cash buyers offer below market value?

Published 29 April 2026· the South Yorkshire Property Buyers team

How our own offer is worked out

We don't put a percentage on our offers, and we don't run your house through a formula. Every property is priced on what it actually is: the condition, the street, the tenure, what comparable homes nearby have recently sold for, and what you tell us about your situation and the timescale you need.

The figure we give you is our best offer at that point, based on the information provided. We don't open low and then creep up to get a deal over the line. It is put in writing the same day and is valid for 14 days. It changes only if conveyancing turns up something material, such as a title defect or a structural problem, or if the property turns out to be different from how it was described.

The honest answer: 75% to 85% of market value

There is no single answer because no two properties or situations are identical. But as a general guide, most legitimate cash buying companies in the UK offer between 75% and 85% of what the property would achieve on the open market in 2026. South Yorkshire Property Buyers doesn't publish a percentage of its own. We price each house on its condition, its location, its tenure and the timescale you need, so we would rather speak to you first than put a number on your property before we have looked at it.

Two figures are worth committing to memory. Anything below 75% of market value, without a clear reason such as severe structural problems or a very short lease, is generally exploitative. And any headline offer above 90% made before the company has actually viewed the property is almost always a bait offer. The figure gets revised downward later, often only days before exchange when you are most committed and least likely to walk away.

Some companies advertise higher percentages anyway. In a small number of cases those figures are achievable, particularly for properties in excellent condition, desirable locations, and where the seller has some flexibility on timing. More often the headline percentage is a marketing figure. We cover the warning signs in our guide on how to spot a legitimate cash buyer, and explain the underlying business model in our companion guide on what a cash buyer actually is.

Why do cash buyers offer less than market value?

This is a fair question, and it deserves a straight answer. Cash buyers offer less because they are taking on risk and providing a service that has real value.

When a cash buyer purchases your property, they do so without a chain, without a mortgage, and with a completion date they can commit to. They buy in any condition, without requiring you to fix anything. They carry all the risk of what happens to the property value after they buy it.

After buying, they will typically spend money on refurbishment before reselling or renting the property. The discount they negotiate is what covers their costs, their risk, and their profit margin. It is a business model, not an act of charity. Being clear about that is more useful to you than pretending otherwise.

What does a traditional estate agent sale actually cost you?

The comparison most sellers make is between the cash offer and the asking price they hope to achieve through an estate agent. But the asking price isn't what ends up in your bank account. You need to compare net proceeds, not headline prices. Our full cash buyer vs estate agent comparison walks through the numbers for both routes.

Here is what a traditional sale typically costs:

• Estate agent fees: typically 1% to 3% of the sale price plus VAT. On a £200,000 property, that is £2,400 to £7,200.
• Solicitor fees: usually £1,000 to £2,500 for conveyancing.
• Energy Performance Certificate: around £60 to £120 if you don't already have a valid one.
• Mortgage payments and other carrying costs while waiting: the average UK marketing-to-completion timeline in 2026 sits at around 25 weeks. At a monthly mortgage of £700, that is roughly £4,375 in payments before you see a penny, plus council tax, utilities, and insurance on the property the whole time.
• Repairs and presentation: many properties need some work before going on the market. Even minor improvements can cost several hundred to several thousand pounds.
• Risk of chain collapse: around 30% of agreed sales fall through before completion. Starting again means repeating months of waiting, costs, and uncertainty.

When you add those costs up, the net amount you actually receive from a traditional sale is significantly lower than the sale price. And that is before accounting for the months of stress and uncertainty involved.

Why we won't quote you before we have spoken

Plenty of sites will put an instant number on your house from a postcode and a slider. We used to do the same here. The trouble is that the number comes from an average, and nobody sells an average house. Two identical terraces on the same street can be twenty thousand pounds apart on condition, tenure, or what is sitting on the title.

So we do it the other way round. Tell us about the property, we look at it and at what has actually sold nearby, and you get a figure in writing the same day. That figure is our best offer based on what you have told us, it is valid for 14 days, and there are no fees on your side. There are no estate agent fees, no repairs to pay for, and we can cover your legal fees if you use our panel solicitor. Typical completion is 7 to 28 days.

If you aren't under time pressure and the house would sell well as it stands, the estate agent route may still net you more, and we will say so. The honest comparison is on our cash buyer vs estate agent page, and it is worth reading before you decide.

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A worked example

Suppose your property is worth £180,000 on the open market.

Through an estate agent, you might hope to achieve £180,000. But after a 2% agent fee (£3,600 plus VAT at £720 = £4,320), solicitor fees of £1,500, roughly 25 weeks of mortgage payments at £650 per month (£3,750), and minor repairs costing £1,200, your net proceeds come to about £169,230, and that assumes the sale completes without a chain collapse or last-minute price reduction. Add another £600 to £900 of council tax, utilities, and insurance over those six months and the net drops below £168,500.

Our cash offer on the same house would be below that £180,000, and we won't put a percentage on it here, because it depends on the condition, the street, the tenure and what you tell us about your timescale. What we can tell you is what doesn't come off it: no agent fees on your side, no repairs, no carrying costs while you wait, and the money with you in weeks rather than months.

Whatever the gap turns out to be on your property, it is smaller than the headline difference suggests once realistic selling costs, carrying costs, and a 30% chance of falling through are baked in. Those figures only hold if every assumed cost actually lands. If the house is mortgage free, the £3,750 of payments comes straight out and the gap widens again. If it sells in 6 weeks rather than 25, most of the carrying costs come out too. Run the sums with your own numbers before you decide, and you may wish to seek independent financial advice to check you are comparing like for like.

When does selling to a cash buyer make sense financially?

The maths works in favour of a cash sale in several situations.

If you are paying a mortgage while you wait, every month that passes narrows the gap. If your property needs significant repairs before it would sell well on the open market, the cost of those repairs reduces what you would net from a traditional sale. If there is a real risk of chain collapse and having to start again, the value of a completion date you can rely on becomes significant.

For sellers who are struggling to sell through an estate agent, or who have already had a sale fall through, a cash buyer removes the uncertainty entirely.

For sellers with a well-presented property, plenty of equity, and no particular time pressure, the calculation may point towards waiting for the full market price. There is no single right answer for everyone.

What makes South Yorkshire Property Buyers different

At South Yorkshire Property Buyers, we give you a straight offer with no hidden fees on your side. There are no estate agent fees and no requirement to carry out repairs, and we can cover your legal fees if you use our panel solicitor. The figure we offer is the figure that reaches your account on completion, unless conveyancing turns up something material such as a title or structural problem, in which case we will explain exactly what has changed and why.

We make a written offer the same day and can complete in as little as 7 days. If you need more time, we can work to a completion date that suits you. The figure we put to you is our best offer at that point, based on the information provided, and it stays valid for 14 days. We don't open low and work our way up to get a deal over the line.

We are a small local team, not a national call centre. We buy with our own funds rather than passing your details on to a list of investors, and the person who views your house is the person who picks up the phone when you ring back.

We won't offer you full market value. We aren't able to, and any company that claims otherwise should be looked at carefully. What we offer is certainty, speed, and a clean transaction with no surprises. For sellers who value those things, a free cash offer is a useful data point regardless of what you ultimately decide.

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