Almost one in 10 home buyers use money originating overseas to fund all or part of their property purchase, according to Thirdfort.
Analysis by the client due diligence platform found that 9.7% of buyers used overseas funds, with India, the US, Hong Kong, Italy and China the five most common countries of origin.
China has entered the top five during the past two years, replacing France.
The findings are based on more than one million Source of Funds verifications completed through Thirdfort’s platform.
Olly Thornton-Berry, co-founder and chief executive at Thirdfort, said: “Our data points to a market where most buyers are funding a purchase in ordinary, explainable ways.
“Meanwhile, there is a much smaller, more identifiable set of transactions that create the biggest headaches with money crossing borders, cash moving in patterns worth understanding and more gifts being made.
“Overall, our analysis helps regulated professionals better understand risk and maintain control.”
CASH DEPOSITS DECLINE
Thirdfort’s data also showed that cash continues to feature in some property transactions. Some 9% of buyers made more than 10 cash deposits into the account funding their purchase during the previous six months, while 8% had a median deposit value of more than £500.
The proportion of Source of Funds verifications involving a median cash deposit of more than £500 has declined from 9.47% in 2023 and 9.52% in 2024 to 7.54% in 2025 and 6.99% so far in 2026.
Cryptocurrency accounted for funds used by about 0.1% of buyers and giftors, a proportion that has remained steady since 2024.
Thirdfort introduced its Source of Funds feature in 2019. The service, now included in its Client Due Diligence Platform, allows buyers, sellers and giftors to submit financial information using a mobile phone.
