Cash Home Sales Decline Nationally, But Some Cities See Growth

Nationwide, cash home sales have seen a slight decline in the first four months of 2026, accounting for 31.4% of transactions, a decrease from 32.3% at the start of 2025, according to a Realtor.com® cash buyer report released on Tuesday. This trend reflects broader challenges in the housing market, characterized by high interest rates and diminished buyer enthusiasm. However, a handful of cities are bucking this national trend, exhibiting significant growth in cash purchases. Pittsburgh led this group with a 6.8-point increase in cash sales, followed by Providence, RI, with a 3.7-point rise. Austin, TX, saw a 2.7-point increase, Dallas experienced a 2.3-point jump, and Houston recorded a 1.9-point gain in cash transactions. These pockets of growth are attributed to emerging wealth, with some cities benefiting from the artificial intelligence boom and others, like Austin and Texas more broadly, experiencing an influx of millionaires, partly due to SpaceX's recent initial public offering (IPO). The National Association of Realtors® previously reported that cash sales constituted 26% of buyer transactions in June and July, noting that "investors, second-home buyers and repeat buyers who can leverage cash from a previous sale are using their buying power." Despite the overall national dip, cash offers remain attractive to sellers, particularly for the certainty they provide. Realtor.com senior economist Hannah Jones highlighted in the report that "for sellers in today’s market, where time on the market is growing and sales feel less certain, an all-cash offer would still be highly attractive, especially for certainty’s sake." The speed of transactions further underscores this advantage, with "instant buyer" firm Opendoor finding that cash offers typically close within 29 days, significantly faster than the 60 to 85 days for financed sales. Looking at historical data, 2025 saw 31.6% of national sales conducted with cash, a marginal decrease from 31.7% in 2024 and a more noticeable drop from 33.2% in 2023. Cash sales had surged during the COVID-19 pandemic and have since receded, but the pace of this change varies by region. For instance, in the Sun Belt, buyers are responding to falling prices by making cash offers, while in the Northeast, financed buyers are more prevalent. This divergence indicates localized market dynamics influencing the prevalence of cash transactions.