Share of Cash Buyers Surges to Decade High

Home buyers who paid cash accounted for 32% of home sales in January, marking the highest rate since 2014, the National Association of REALTORS® reports. Many leveraged the equity from a prior home sale.

Only 6% of first-time home buyers made a cash purchase in 2023 compared to 26% of repeat buyers.

19% of LA homes in October were purchased with all cash.

Share of U.S. homes bought with all cash hits highest level since 2014. Roughly one-third (31.9%) of U.S. home purchases were paid for with all cash in October.

However, expensive West Coast metros dominate the list of places with the lowest share of all cash-purchases. They’re least common in the Bay Area: Just 14.3% of home purchases in San Jose and 16.5% in Oakland were made in cash. Next come Seattle (19%), Los Angeles (19.2%) and Newark, NJ (20%).

Source: Redfin analysis of county records