However, this year it has arisen, thanks to data from quickmovenow.com, that cash buyers outstripped mortgage buyers in four out of the past twelve months.
This is a significant statistic given that at no other time while this index has been recorded have mortgage sales dipped below cash sales.
Donna Houguez, Market Analyst at quickmovenow.com explains:
“A rise in the return on investment levels of buy-to-let and a drive to purchase before the market rises again has led to those people with cash reserves available using them to buy property outright.
"Looking to the future, I think this is a great index for measuring the success of the Help to Buy scheme as if it is successful, we should see a noticeably larger proportion of properties being bought with mortgages again.”