With mortgage rates lingering above 6%, buyers with ready cash continue to dominate both the lowest and highest ends of the housing market.
Roughly one-third of all home sales in the first half of 2025 were completed entirely with cash, according to a new report from Realtor.com.
That figure represents only a 0.6% decline from a year earlier.
Cash offers surged during the height of the COVID-19 housing frenzy, when buyers competed fiercely for limited inventory. Those offers remain appealing because they close faster and avoid the risk of financing or appraisal complications — key advantages for sellers seeking certainty.
As borrowing costs rose beginning in mid-2022, wealthier buyers increasingly used cash to sidestep expensive loans, the report said.
“Their persistence underscores both the wealth concentration driving housing demand and the challenges faced by mortgage-dependent buyers in today’s high-cost housing market,” said Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com.
A buyer’s disadvantage
Although cash deals have dipped slightly from their post–Great Recession peak, sellers still tend to favor them over financed offers.
Harrison Stevens, vice president of marketing at TurboTenant, recalled losing out to a cash buyer.
“I had found a property I really liked and had formed a good relationship with the seller,” he said. “At the last second, they reached out and told me they ended up going with a cash buyer instead, which was a shock.
“I was glad that I hadn’t gotten too far in the process logistically, but it was definitely a major disappointment because in my mind I had gotten so far.”
Who pays in cash
Realtor.com data show four main types of cash buyers; investors, second-home shoppers, high-net-worth individuals and older homeowners leveraging equity.
Investors — especially large institutional players — account for a significant portion of cash deals. Deed data indicates that limited liability companies and corporations represent a disproportionate share of all-cash transactions.
In 2024, the share of investors buying with cash was nearly twice the overall cash-sales rate, the report added.
Buyers of second homes, particularly in coastal or vacation destinations, often pay upfront. Older and wealthier buyers also rely less on financing.
Jones said that these groups tend to be longtime homeowners armed with accumulated equity they can put toward their next home purchase without having to take out a mortgage.
U-shaped market
Cash purchases cluster at the extremes of price.
About two-thirds of homes under $100,000 sold for cash — along with more than 40% of homes priced above $1 million.
Among properties listed between $2 million and $5 million, over half were cash transactions. For those between $5 million and $10 million, more than 60% were bought outright.
“This creates a U-shaped relationship between price and cash prevalence,” Jones said, “suggesting wealth-driven purchases at the high end and credit/income barriers, lack of financing availability, or the presence of investors at the low end.”
Miami tops cash-sale markets
Among major metros, Miami led the nation with 43% of sales completed in cash during the first half of 2025. More than half of the city’s million-dollar-plus homes were all-cash purchases.
“Liquidity rules Miami’s super prime luxury market,” said Ana Bozovic, founder of Analytics Miami. “Past $2,000 a square foot, over 80% of single-family and condo deals are all cash. Cash is appealing to sellers because it means certainty. There is no appraisal risk, no financing contingency and no delay.”
She said high-end buyers tend to be globally mobile, highly liquid individuals for whom purchasing with cash confers privacy, speed and negotiating power.
Following Miami were San Antonio (39.6%), Kansas City (39.2%), Birmingham and Houston (38.8% each), and St. Louis (38.1%).
Looking ahead
With affordability strained and rates high, cash buyers maintain a competitive edge—particularly as many homeowners remain “locked in” with low-rate mortgages and reluctant to sell.
“When homes do hit the market, cash buyers can move quickly, often setting the price tone for everyone else,” Jones said.
If mortgage rates drop next year, she noted, that dynamic could shift. More buyers might rely on financing — and cash transactions could lose their dominance.
