28.8% of U.S. homebuyers paid in all cash in March 2026, the lowest share for March since 2020, according to Redfin analysis of county records across 40 of the most populous U.S. metropolitan areas. The share declined from 29.8% in March 2025 and ties with 2021 for the lowest March level in the past six years.
An all-cash purchase is defined as one in which there is no mortgage loan information on the deed. The prevalence of all-cash home purchases peaked at nearly 35% in 2023, when mortgage rates reached a two-decade high of almost 8%. By March 2026, mortgage rates had eased to 6.18% from recent highs of 7% or above.
"Cash buyers have retreated," said Beth Behling, a Redfin Premier agent in Chicago. "Buyers are feeling jittery about the economy, and it’s not financially comfortable to drop a huge chunk of money into a home; they may prefer to have more cash on hand." Economic uncertainty—including concerns about the Iran war, rising oil prices, inflation, and recession jitters—is influencing homebuyers' decisions. Some buyers are opting to finance their purchase to keep cash on hand in case of emergency, while others may take out a home loan and invest cash elsewhere, such as in the stock market, if potential returns outpace mortgage rates.
All-cash purchases were most common in Cleveland and West Palm Beach, Florida, where 51.1% of home purchases in March 2026 were made in cash. In Detroit, 45.8% of purchases were all-cash, followed by Riverside, California, at 38.1%, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at 38.0%. All-cash purchases are common in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale because they attract many affluent retirees and second-home buyers. In Cleveland and Detroit, relatively low home prices enable both investors and regular homebuyers to more easily afford outright purchases. Cleveland is also one of the few metros that is not a buyer’s market, creating competition that may incentivize cash offers.
At the other end of the spectrum, all-cash purchases were least prevalent in Seattle, where 17.6% of home purchases were made in cash in March 2026. Oakland, California, recorded 18.4%, Sacramento 19.9%, Los Angeles 20.5%, and San Diego 20.7%. Even affluent buyers in expensive markets like Seattle and Los Angeles often choose to finance at least part of their purchase because paying cash can require several million dollars. The housing market remains buyer-friendly in most of the country, with more sellers than buyers.