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New analysis shows how areas with high numbers of cash buyers and mortgage-free homeowners are the most immune to a house price crash in the UK. Hamptons ranked every local authority in England by six factors, including the share of mortgage-free homeowners, the share of cash buyers, and the pace of house price growth since the end of 2019 to find where house prices will be most protected from price falls over the next two years. The London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, where an average home costs £1.39m, was named as the place that is best protected from house price falls. Here, 69% of homeowners are mortgage-free, compared to 54% across England and Wales. Two-fifths of buyers (43%) are also purchasing in cash, meaning their spending power will be unaffected by rising mortgage rates. The second most-protected property market is South Lakeland, in Cumbria, where more than two thirds (68%) of homeowners are mortgage-free, with 42% of buyers purchasing in cash. The buyers that are borrowing are using mortgages worth only 29% of the property's value on average. Three of the top 10 areas are in the South West – West Devon, East Devon and Stroud, where homes cost £305,580, £359,150 and £339,740 respectively. |