1 in 3 US Homeowners Paid Cash for Properties in 2025: Report

Two-thirds of homes listed for under $100,000 and more than 40 percent of properties listed for more than $1 million were bought with cash.

A home available for sale in Austin, Texas, on May 22, 2024. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

The “cash is king” adage apparently remains true as almost 33 percent of U.S. home sales so far this year were cash deals.

In its Oct. 7 report, Realtor.com analyzed the cash homebuying market, often dominated by investors, equity-rich households, and second-home purchasers.

While that percentage is down slightly from the same time last year, all-cash purchases have risen substantially from pre-pandemic levels of 28.6 percent of sales, according to the report.

“Cash buyers have long been a fixture in the market, but their influence is more pronounced today than in pre-pandemic years,” Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com, said in the report.

“High-wealth buyers, investors, and those with significant equity can move quickly and often win out in competitive situations. For traditional, mortgage-reliant buyers, this can add another hurdle in an already challenging affordability environment.”

The report indicates that two-thirds of homes listed under $100,000 and more than 40 percent of properties listed for more than $1 million were bought with cash. More than 50 percent of homebuyers paid cash for properties listed at $2 million or more.

“Older households and buyers with significant equity are especially likely to purchase without a mortgage, often using proceeds from a prior home sale,” the report stated.

Mississippi leads the nation in cash home sales at almost 50 percent, followed by Montana at 46 percent, Idaho and Hawaii at 45 percent, and Maine at 44 percent.

Zillow lists Mississippi’s current median home price at $187,882—well below the national median of $422,600 as of August, according to the National Association of Realtors. The report concludes that the state’s lower home prices and limited access to credit in some rural areas have contributed to the high share of cash deals.

Both Hawaii and Maine remain attractive to affluent second-home buyers, while Montana and Idaho have both experienced higher shares of out-of-state cash buyers, according to the report.

Among the United States’ metro areas, Miami tops the list with 43 percent of home buying transactions in cash. Zillow lists Miami’s median home price at $577,205. San Antonio is next with 39.6 percent transacted in cash deals, followed by Kansas City, Kansas, with 39.2 percent. Other metros with cash deals at more than 38 percent include Birmingham, Alabama; Houston; and St. Louis.

Realtor.com noted that domestic high-end demand and international buyers account for a large share of Miami’s cash buyers. Investors and those seeking more affordable options comprise most of the cash buyers in San Antonio, Birmingham, Kansas City, and St. Louis.

Conversely, the Seattle metro area experienced the lowest percentage of cash sales at just 17.9 percent, followed by San Jose, California, at 20.6 percent, Denver at 20.7 percent and the District of Columbia at 21 percent.

Statewide, Washington experienced the fewest cash deals at just 21.1 percent, followed by Rhode Island, at 23.6 percent, Maryland at 24 percent, and Wisconsin and Minnesota at just over 25 percent.

The report concludes that while cash buyers hold a strong edge in the marketplace, that balance could shift if mortgage rates continue to decline. According to Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate averaged 6.34 percent as of Oct. 2.

“Cash sales underscore the wealth concentration shaping today’s housing market,” Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com, said in the report.

“If mortgage rates fall, we could see financed buyers regain ground, but for now, cash remains a powerful competitive advantage.”