A December study from the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) found, " ... over the past three years, more than a quarter of the real estate market was made up of all-cash home buyers who did not finance their recent home purchase. In October 2025, 29% of home buyers had all-cash sales, virtually unchanged from 30% the month prior, and up from 27% one year ago."
The NAR ties falls and rises in all-cash purchases with matching ups and downs in mortgage rates. And that makes sense. When borrowing costs are low, a loan can make sound financial sense, especially when stock markets and other investments offer higher yields than the interest rates on offer.
In October, Redfin found data about all-cash buyers that was similar to the NAR's. "Just under three in 10 (28.8%) U.S. homebuyers paid in all cash in August [2025], down just incrementally from 29% a year earlier ... The prevalence of all-cash payments peaked at nearly 35% in late 2023 and early 2024 because mortgage rates peaked in the high-7% range during that time. Buyers were inclined to pay in cash — if they could afford it — to avoid high monthly interest payments."
Who Is Buying What With All Cash?
All-cash buyers who had previously been homeowners had an average age of 68 years. You have to add in all-cash first-time buyers (8% of all home sales) to get the median age down to 58 years.
Only 19% of those purchasing their principal residences paid cash. But the picture was very different for those buying vacation homes and properties as investments. In those cases, all-cash buyers made up a majority: 57% and 56% respectively.
Mortgage rates tend to be somewhat higher on vacation and investment properties, so we may be circling back to the NAR's point about all-cash purchases being more attractive when mortgage rates are elevated.
"There has been a notable rise in all-cash repeat primary residence buyers over the past 20 years. In 2025, 30% of repeat buyers paid in all cash, a marginal decrease from 2024 when 31% paid in all cash—an all-time high," says the NAR study. "In comparison, in 2003, only 10% of repeat primary
residence home buyers paid in all cash, and prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 16% did. Although not as common, there has also been a marginal increase in all-cash buying among first-time primary residence buyers. In 2025, 8% of first-time buyers made all-cash purchases, compared with 4% in 2003."
The Pros and Cons of All-Cash Purchases
Pros
Here are the main pros of being an all-cash buyer:
- Avoiding paying often hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest.
- Being in the priority lane when negotiating a purchase — All-cash buyers won't get their mortgage applications declined or delayed, and can close more quickly than those who are financing. Sellers and agents see them as birds in the hand.
- As a result of this speed and certainty, some sellers will accept all-cash offers that are lower than those from buyers needing a mortgage.
- Becoming a 100% homeowner immediately. There is no mortgage lien on the home.
Cons
However, home purchasers need to recognize two potential downsides to the all-cash approach:
- Opportunity costs — Money sunk into a home can't be reinvested elsewhere. In 2025, the S&P 500 stock index showed gains of 16.39%, according to CNN. That yield is way higher than the interest payable on a mortgage. Having said that, stocks tend to be more volatile than mortgage rates, meaning there's a higher risk of losses.
- Less financial agility — All-cash buyers need to be sure that they still have sufficient savings and liquid assets to see them through any personal financial crises that might arise, including recession, redundancy, business failure, sudden inflation and expensive health issues.
