All-cash presents have cemented their place as a formidable drive within the U.S. housing market, accounting for almost one in three house purchases within the first half of 2025, in line with the most recent evaluation from Realtor.com. The information reveals that about 32.8% of house gross sales up to now this yr have been accomplished totally in money—a determine solely barely decrease than final yr, however considerably above pre-pandemic norms. These transactions are “particularly frequent on the excessive ends of the value spectrum,” writes senior financial analysis analyst Hannah Jones, who notes that they range dramatically throughout areas.
Central to this phenomenon is the growing role of two groups, Jones concludes: investors and second-home buyers. Institutional investors, in particular, have continued to leverage their financial heft, making swift, uncompromising offers—often without the need for financing. Jones’ analysis of deed data suggests to her that LLC and corporate entities make up a “disproportionate share” of cash transactions, she says, followed by second-home buyers, particularly in vacation markets. Jones cited her previous research that the share of buyers who paid all-cash in 2024 was almost double the share of general money gross sales.
Zooming out over the previous a number of years, Jones discovered the money share rising from 27.5% in 2019 to a current peak of 34% in 2023, easing each of the final two years to the present degree. Jones concluded this decline probably displays fewer massive buyers and fewer intense purchaser competitors, with a housing market shifting, slowly, toward more balance.
“After dominating some markets throughout the pandemic, massive investor exercise has retreated, giving method to smaller buyers who extra usually use financing.” She warns that investor presence stays elevated, with many non-investor consumers sidelined, and money purchases nonetheless representing a large a part of the market. In different phrases, hopeful millennial and Gen Z first-time homebuyers are up in opposition to deep-pocketed boomers, and deep-pocketed Wall Avenue sorts.
Geographical disparities in money gross sales
The brand new knowledge additionally spotlight stark regional disparities. States like Mississippi (49.6%), New Mexico (48.8%), Montana (46.0%), Hawaii (44.9%), and Maine (44.4%) lead the nation in money gross sales, pushed by a mixture of inexpensive costs, out-of-state curiosity, and older demographics. These areas distinction sharply with high-cost, mortgage-dependent hubs reminiscent of Washington (21.1%), Washington D.C. (23.4%), and Maryland (24.0%), the place youthful consumers and stronger lending infrastructure prevail.
At the metro level, Miami (43.0%), San Antonio (39.6%), and Kansas City (39.2%) top the charts, combining both investor activity and, in some cases, significant luxury or international demand. Meanwhile, cities like Seattle (17.9%) and San Jose (20.6%) see the lowest proportions of cash deals, reflecting higher reliance on traditional mortgages due to high local incomes and younger populations.
Jones proposes a pattern to the data: a U-shaped phenomenon of lower and upper-end transactions being particularly cash-sensitive.
The pattern behind the data
The high volume of cash transactions partly reflects an environment marked by elevated mortgage rates and fierce buyer competition. In many markets, cash offers are viewed as the fastest and simplest way to close a deal—bypassing financing contingencies and offering sellers greater certainty. During 2021’s record housing frenzy, the number of cash sales soared to roughly 2 million, the highest in any dataset available to Jones from Realtor.com. While the number dropped to about 1.4 million in 2024, reflecting a slower sales pace and retreating large investor activity, the cash share remains historic by long-term standards.
Behind these numbers is a striking U-shaped pattern: Cash buying surges at both the low end—where as many as two-thirds of homes under $100,000 are sold without loans—and the high end, with over 40% of homes above $1 million changing hands in cash. The result is a marketplace where first-time and lower-income buyers, often reliant on financing, are outflanked by older, equity-rich, and wealthier competitors.
