Overview
- Realtor.com data show all-cash purchases slipped to 31.4% of U.S. home sales in early 2026, down from 32.3% a year earlier while the number of cash transactions fell faster than overall sales.
- National price gains have nearly stalled, with the median sale price up about 0.2% year over year, a shift that has reduced the outright advantage of cash offers for many buyers.
- Cash buying remains concentrated at both extremes of the market: more than two-thirds of homes under $100,000 sold for cash and over 40% of homes above $1 million were bought without financing.
- Local patterns diverge sharply, with metros such as Pittsburgh, Austin and San Francisco seeing cash transaction counts rise and states like Mississippi, Montana and Florida posting the highest cash shares.
- Sellers still prize cash for speed and certainty—Opendoor data cited average cash closings around 29 days—while the longer-term surge in cash deals reflects pandemic bidding, investor activity and pockets of new liquid wealth.