The proportion of landlords acquiring properties in cash has reached an all-time high of 65%, according to fresh data from Countrywide.
The highest proportion of cash transactions came in the North East of England, where 78% of buy-to-let investors paid in cash over the last 12 months, seemingly reflecting cheaper house prices.
In contrast, 42% of buy-to-let investors paid in cash in London, where property values are much higher.
Johnny Morris, research director at Countrywide, said: “Landlords have increased their housing wealth considerably over the last 10 years. This means cash purchases are steadily becoming a bigger part of the market. But a landlord buying with cash will often have a mortgage either on their personal home or other properties in their portfolio.
“Rising prices have allowed landlords to take equity out of both their personal or other rental homes to expand their portfolios.”
Value and volume of cash landlord purchases

Source: Countrywide
Value of volume of cash and mortgaged landlord purchases
|
Cash investors by number
|
Cash investors by value
|
Value of cash investor purchases
|
Value of mortgaged investor purchases
|
2007
|
40%
|
34%
|
£15,906,637,239
|
£30,621,093,887
|
2008
|
45%
|
34%
|
£7,123,021,165
|
£14,058,335,527
|
2009
|
53%
|
55%
|
£9,033,503,229
|
£7,512,847,910
|
2010
|
58%
|
57%
|
£9,822,264,742
|
£7,472,528,153
|
2011
|
60%
|
59%
|
£12,523,438,427
|
£8,607,602,932
|
2012
|
59%
|
58%
|
£12,965,860,135
|
£9,424,657,460
|
2013
|
57%
|
55%
|
£15,752,388,746
|
£12,847,355,436
|
2014
|
56%
|
54%
|
£19,723,785,342
|
£16,690,792,162
|
2015
|
56%
|
52%
|
£20,796,624,136
|
£19,236,317,264
|
2016
|
59%
|
55%
|
£20,804,696,172
|
£16,936,388,079
|
Last 12 months
|
65%
|
61%
|
£21,030,987,287
|
£13,355,841,389
|
Source: Countrywide
Regional volume and value of cash landlord purchases (GB) – last 12 months
|
Cash investors
|
Amount spent by cash landlords for every £1 spend by mortgaged landlords
|
North East
|
78%
|
£3.17
|
Scotland
|
71%
|
£2.31
|
North West
|
70%
|
£2.12
|
West Midlands
|
66%
|
£1.96
|
Yorkshire & Humber
|
66%
|
£1.95
|
South West
|
65%
|
£1.96
|
East Midlands
|
63%
|
£1.65
|
Wales
|
62%
|
£1.68
|
South East
|
59%
|
£1.47
|
East of England
|
57%
|
£1.23
|
London
|
42%
|
67p
|
Great Britain
|
65%
|
£1.57
|
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A bit of a tricky area to draw conclusions from isn't it? How do we know if a cash landlord has raised the money from the sale or mortgaging of another property?
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