All-Cash Home Sales on the Rise

In 2022, almost one third of U.S. home purchases were made in cash, up 8 percent from the year before. This according to an article in The Washington Post by Emmanuel Martinez, Kevin Schaul, and Hamza Shaban.

As the article explains, “The rise of all-cash buys comes at a time when the average home buyer is increasingly likely to be White, wealthy and older and the proportion of first-time buyers is at its lowest in more than 40 years.”

According to Ali Wolf, chief economist at Zonda quoted in the article, “What we found was those that already were more well-off were able to take advantage of the strong housing market and add to their wealth, while those trying to better their situation were often pushed to the side.”

The trend varies place to place, with South Florida consistently seeing a higher rate of cash purchases. In Nassau County, New York, 52 percent of home sales in 2022 were made in cash, a 104 percent rise over the previous year. Frederick County, Maryland, saw a 122 percent growth in cash sales.