Realtor.com: One-Third of Home Sales All-Cash

(Image courtesy of Goran Grudić/pexels.com)

Realtor.com, Santa Clara, Calif., reported that 32.8% of homes sold in first-half 2025 were paid for with cash.

That’s down slightly from the first half of 2024, but well above pre-pandemic levels, when it averaged 28.6%. Per Realtor.com records, cash sales peaked in 2012 at 35.4%.

All-cash sales are particularly common at the extreme ends of the price spectrum, the report noted. About two-thirds of homes that sold for under $100,000 were bought with cash, along with more than 40% of homes sold for more than $1 million. More than 50% of homes over $2 million were all-cash sales.

Buyers planning to pay in cash have an advantage in bidding wars, as they can close quickly and avoid appraisal and financing contingencies. As mortgage rates have remained fairly high, cash purchases can also save those with the means a significant amount of money.

In terms of the types of buyers purchasing homes with all-cash, investors are a key driver. The share of investors who paid all-cash in 2024 was nearly double the share of overall cash sales.

Second-home buyers also are also frequently buying in cash, along with high-wealth and older households.

All-cash sales tend to peak in February, the same month when overall sales hit their lowest level for the year.

Looking state-by-state, Mississippi saw the highest rate of all-cash sales, at 49.6%. Next was New Mexico, at 48.8%, Montana, at 46%, Idaho, at 45%, Hawaii, at 44.9%, and Maine, at 44.4%.

Seeing the lowest rate was Washington, at 21.1%. Washington, D.C., at 23.4%, Rhode Island, at 23.6%, Maryland, at 24%, and Colorado, at 24%.