A bird’s eye view of the national housing market shows cash buyers are pulling back as positive changes in market dynamics like increasing inventory and moderating prices are allowing more financed buyers to compete; however, like the saying goes, a closer look at local real estate shows this trend varying widely in different markets.
A new report from Realtor.com shows cash buyers are beginning to lose some of the outsized influence they gained during the pandemic housing boom. According to the report, cash purchases accounted for 31.4% of home sales during the first four months of 2026, down from 32.3% a year earlier, as easing prices, improving inventory and changing market conditions helped more financed buyers re-enter the market.
Realtor.com says cash buyers are pulling back faster than the market as a whole: Total home sales fell 8.5% year over year, but the number of cash sales fell 11.2% as the pool of cash buyers shrinks, the report stated.
Price growth has slowed alongside that shift, the report showed, with the national median sale price rising just 0.2% year-over-year, down from 1.8% growth in 2025 and well below the 15.4% peak reached in 2021.
“Cash buyers aren’t disappearing; they’re simply becoming less dominant as the housing market finds its footing,” said Hannah Jones, senior economist at Realtor.com®. “More inventory and moderating prices are giving financed buyers more opportunities to compete. Cash still matters, but today its biggest advantage isn’t just winning bidding wars. It’s also giving sellers confidence that a deal will close quickly and with fewer surprises.”
Cash trends vary widely across markets
But as cash buying is cooling nationally, a closer look at certain markets shows that trend is moving in the opposite direction. In Pittsburgh, Austin, Texas and San Francisco the number of cash transactions increased year over year, the report stated, not just because cash represented a larger share of a shrinking pool of sales, but because the actual number of cash purchases increased.
Pittsburgh posted the largest increase in cash share among major metros, up 6.8 percentage points year over year. Austin saw both cash share and transaction counts rise, while San Francisco’s cash purchases increased 7.7% year over year in a market where the median sale price exceeds $1 million, reflecting the purchasing power of technology workers benefiting from AI-sector wealth creation, stock-based compensation and liquidity events.
The markets with the highest cash shares reflect a mix of affordability, wealth and buyer demographics. Among states, Mississippi (47.2%), Montana (45.9%), New Mexico (43.8%), Missouri (42.0%) and Florida (41.3%) posted the highest cash shares. Among major metros, Miami (43.2%), Kansas City, Mo. (38.9%), Houston (38.8%), San Antonio (38.7%) and St. Louis (37.5%) led the way, according to the report.
The reasons vary by market: Florida’s retiree and second-home buyer base supports elevated cash activity, Montana reflects affluent lifestyle buyers and Sun Belt markets such as Houston and San Antonio show cash buyers holding up better than financed buyers as the market rebalances. At the other end, high-cost job centers including Seattle (16.4%), Washington, D.C. (18.2%), Denver (18.8%) and San Jose, Calif., (20.2%) had the lowest cash shares, where mortgage-reliant buyers make up a larger share of purchasers.
Cash remains common at both ends of the market
The pullback in cash buying has not changed the broader pattern: Cash purchases remain especially common at both ends of the housing market, Realtor.com stated.
More than two-thirds of homes sold for less than $100,000 were purchased in cash during the first four months of 2026. At the other end of the market, more than 40% of homes sold for more than $1 million and a majority of homes sold for $2 million or more were purchased without financing.
This U-shaped pattern reflects two different types of buyers. At the lower end, investor activity, limited financing availability and credit barriers contribute to elevated cash sales. At the luxury end, affluent households are more likely to have the resources to purchase homes outright.
Cash offers still provide sellers with certainty
Although all-cash offers are no longer as critical for winning bidding wars as they were during the pandemic, they continue to provide sellers with an important advantage in today’s slower housing market.
As inventory has grown and homes are spending more time on the market, the value of a cash offer has shifted from helping buyers outbid competitors to giving sellers confidence that a transaction will close quickly and with fewer financing-related risks.
A more balanced buyer mix could support the market
Data from Realtor.com showed the shift away from a cash-dominated market could create opportunities for a broader range of buyers, particularly as more financed buyers regain access to the market.
“Cash will remain an important part of housing, particularly at the high and low ends of the market, but a more diverse buyer pool is a positive sign for market activity,” Jones said. “When more buyers can compete using different paths to purchase, the market has the potential to become healthier and more balanced.”
To view the full report, click here.
