Mortages vs. Cash buyers ?

Hi,

I have read online that when buying a house in Ireland, cash buyers are preferred over those buying with a mortgage ? ie a cash buyer will be favoured even if a mortgage-aproved buyer makes an offer of the exact same value (or possibly even a slightly higher one), is this really true ? It doesn't make any sense to me as presumably mortgage-approved means exactly what it says; the bank have already agreed to advance a specific amount of money to the applicant, so why would the vendor care where exactly the money is coming from (buyer's personal funds vs their mortgage account).

If this cash-buyer preference is a real phenomenon, can anyone estimate it's magnitude, eg will a vendor accept a offer that is 2%, 5%, 10% lower simply because it is in cash ?

Thanks,

M.

Because paying out the money out of an available savings account can be done immediately, drawing down a mortgage even when approved can cause delays, lot of paperwork and conditions to put in place. Mortgage approved doesn't mean you have the money in your hand ready to go, it just means that subject to all the conditions being met the bank will release the money, not always straightforward or quick.