{"id":6762,"date":"2026-10-28T10:48:37","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T10:48:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandpointrealtyidaho.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/28\/whos-buying-homes-with-cash-right-now\/"},"modified":"2026-10-28T10:48:37","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T10:48:37","slug":"whos-buying-homes-with-cash-right-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandpointrealtyidaho.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/28\/whos-buying-homes-with-cash-right-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Who\u2019s Buying Homes with Cash Right Now?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

$\"Who\u2019s$ \n

Ryan Serhant, CEO of SERHANT<\/em>, says<\/a> there isn\u2019t just 1 housing market right now. There are really 4: cash buyers, buyers who need a mortgage, homeowners with low mortgage rates, and builders. <\/p>\n

Today, let\u2019s zoom in on the 1st group \u2013 cash buyers.<\/p>\n

According to the National Association of Realtors<\/em> (NAR), 27%<\/a> of homes sold in September were bought with all cash. That\u2019s more than 1 in 4 buyers. And that\u2019s a pretty big number, especially when so many people are struggling with affordability.<\/p>\n

So where is all that cash coming from? When you hear a number like that, it\u2019s easy to picture wealthy investors buying up houses left and right. But that\u2019s not necessarily the case<\/a>. Some of those cash buyers are actually homeowners who\u2019ve built up enough equity to buy their next home outright.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what you should know about who\u2019s paying cash and what that really means for the market.<\/p>\n

Who\u2019s Paying Cash?<\/strong><\/h4>\nCash buyers tend to fall into a few groups, according<\/a> to NAR:<\/p>\n
\n
\n
Homeowners who sold a house and are using that money to buy their next one<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\n
People buying a 2nd home<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\n
Investors<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
So, it\u2019s not all those big investors social media talks about. That 1st group may include people a lot more like you. Here\u2019s how. According to Cotality<\/em>, the average homeowner with a mortgage has about $310,000<\/a> in equity.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a big deal right now. Many homeowners feel stuck because they don\u2019t want to give up the low mortgage rate they have today. But once they learn they may have enough equity to move and pay cash for their next home, today\u2019s rates don\u2019t matter nearly as much. Because buying in all cash means\u2026<\/p>\n
\n
\n
No monthly mortgage payment<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\n
No need to borrow at today\u2019s mortgage rates<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\n
No loan approval process, so you may be able to close faster<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
And even if the equity won\u2019t cover the whole purchase, putting more of it toward the next home means borrowing less. That can mean a smaller monthly payment, too.<\/p>\n
But cash buyers like this are more common in some places than others. And how big of a segment of your local market this is, is going to depend on where you live.<\/p>\n
For example, Realtor.com<\/em> data<\/a> shows cash buyers made up almost 47% of sales in Mississippi and 46% in Montana earlier this year (see map below<\/em>).<\/p>\n
Where does your state fall?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
$\"a$ <\/p>\n
According<\/a> to Realtor.com<\/em>, the states with the most cash buyers reflect \u201ca mix of affordability, wealth and buyer demographics.\u201d Think places with lower home prices, or lots of retirees and 2nd-home buyers.<\/p>\n
So, depending on where you live, you may see a lot more (or a lot fewer) cash buyers than the national number suggests. An agent who knows your area can tell you who\u2019s actually buying near you.<\/p>\n
Most Buyers Are Still Using a Mortgage<\/strong><\/h4>\n
And if all of this has you thinking everyone\u2019s paying cash, they\u2019re not. If you\u2019re planning to buy and need a mortgage, you\u2019re actually in the majority.<\/p>\n
Based on NAR\u2019s numbers<\/a>, nearly 3 out of 4 home purchases still involve financing. And for homes priced between $200,000 and $750,000, only about 1 in 5 sold for cash, according<\/a> to Realtor.com<\/em> (see graph below<\/em>):<\/p>\n
$\"a$ <\/p>\n
That means most people buying in that price range are financing their purchase, too. So, there\u2019s no need to assume you\u2019re at a disadvantage just because you\u2019re using a loan.<\/p>\n
Cash Buyers and Your Move<\/strong><\/h4>\n
So, what does all this mean for you? Maybe more than you think.<\/p>\n
If you already own a house, you may have enough equity to make your next move more affordable than you realize. And if you\u2019re buying with a mortgage, remember, you\u2019re in good company. Most buyers are financing their purchases, too.<\/p>\n
The takeaway? Don\u2019t make assumptions about what\u2019s possible based on how other people are buying homes.<\/strong> What really matters is your equity, your budget, and what\u2019s happening in your local market.<\/p>\n
Bottom Line<\/h3>\n
Cash buyers are a meaningful part of today\u2019s market, but they aren\u2019t the whole market.<\/p>\n
Whether you\u2019re hoping to put your equity to work or you\u2019re buying with a mortgage, a local real estate agent can help you see how much equity you have, who\u2019s buying in your area, and what that means for your next move.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ryan Serhant, CEO of SERHANT, says there isn\u2019t just 1 housing market right now. There are really 4: cash buyers, buyers who need a mortgage, homeowners with low mortgage rates, and builders. Today, let\u2019s zoom in on the 1st group \u2013 cash buyers. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 27% of homes sold […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6763,"comment_status":"registered_only","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[12],"tags":[29,27,20,18,28],"class_list":["post-6762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-estate-insight","tag-idaho-real-estate","tag-north-idaho-homes","tag-rain-silverhawk","tag-real-estate","tag-sandpoint-idaho"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t