Nearly one-third (30%) of U.S. home purchases this year were paid for with all cash.
That’s up from 25.3% during all of 2020 and represents the largest share since 2014, when 30.6% of homes were purchased with all cash, according to a Redfin analysis of county records published from January 2001 through April 2021—the most recent month for which national data was available.
Tucson has seen 35.1% of homes paid for in full with cash, while 32.3% of home sales in Phoenix have been made in all cash.
Cash purchases are on the rise as Americans reap the benefits of a strong stock market. The S&P 500 Index has gained 36% in the past 12 months alone, as of July 14, 2021.
Additionally, remote work has allowed homeowners in expensive cities including San Francisco and New York to sell their homes and move to less expensive areas, where they can often afford to buy properties in cash.
Investors, who often pay in cash, are wading back into the housing market after pressing pause at the onset of the pandemic. U.S. home purchases by investors rose 2.7% year over year in the first quarter, marking the first period of growth since the coronavirus pandemic began.
Read the full report here.
