Redfin reports that just under one-third (32.6%) of U.S. home purchases were made in cash in 2024, down from 35.1% the year before, and the lowest share reported since 2021. Still, all-cash sales made up a bigger piece of the homebuying pie than before the pandemic, when the share ranged from 25% to 30%. For their findings, Redfin analyzed county-level home purchase records across 40 of the most populous U.S. metropolitan areas going back through 2014. Redfin defines an all-cash purchase as “a home purchase with no mortgage loan information on the deed.” One reason the share of cash purchases fell was because investors—who make up a significant proportion of all-cash buyers—bought fewer homes than they did during the past few years. “The rate of all-cash sales remains high because when housing is expensive—like it is now—wealthier Americans who can afford to pay cash are more likely than lower-income Americans to be buying homes,” said Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari . “We are unlikely to see the share of all-cash purchases fall much lower in 2025, unless mortgage rates drop enough to drive a significant increase in sales.” The number of all-cash home sales dropped to its lowest level in at least a decade in 2024, as total home sales fell to historic lows.
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