1 in 3 Buyers Uses Cash – Highest Share in a Decade

SEATTLE – Just over one-third (34.1%) of U.S. home purchases in September were made in cash, up from 29.5% a year earlier and the highest share in nearly a decade, according to a report from Redfin.

In Florida, the percentage of cash sales was higher than the national average of 34.1% in all six metros included in the study, ranging from 38.2% in Tampa to 49.0% in West Palm Beach

Percentage of September cash sales by Florida metro

• Fort Lauderdale: 40.5%, down 0.5 percentage points year-to-year
• Jacksonville: 46.2%, up 3.2 points
• Miami: 40.7%, up 2.0 points
• Orlando: 40.0%, up 0.6 points
• Tampa: 38.2%, up 0.2 points
• West Palm Beach: 49.0%, up 0.8 points

All-cash purchases are making up a bigger piece of the homebuying pie for two major reasons. Affluent Americans who can already afford to pay cash are more apt to do so in such an expensive housing market – and higher rates are pushing other buyers to consider alternative methods that allow them to pay cash at the closing table. Elevated mortgage rates make buying a home in cash and avoiding interest altogether more attractive.

“High mortgage rates are exacerbating inequality between people who own homes and people who don’t,” says Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari. “Home prices are roughly 40% higher now than before the pandemic homebuying boom, and soaring mortgage rates have made the divide even bigger by adding more to monthly payments.

“Affluent Americans are the only ones who can avoid the sting of high mortgage rates … Meanwhile, those who are sidelined by high prices and rates not only can’t afford a home now, but they’re not building wealth through homeownership for the future.”

September report takeaways

• The typical U.S. homebuyer’s down payment was equal to 16.1% of the purchase price in September, up from 15% a year earlier, and the highest down-payment percentage since June 2022.
• The median down payment was $60,980, up roughly 15% year-to-year and the biggest increase since June 2022.
• FHA loans are more common than during the pandemic homebuying boom because sellers receive fewer offers – just over 15% of mortgaged home sales in September, up from 14% a year earlier.
• 6.3% of mortgaged sales used a VA loan, down just marginally from 6.8% a year earlier.
• 78.5 % of mortgage purchases were conventional loans, down slightly from 79.2% a year earlier.

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