House hunters willing to make an all-cash offer on a property typically have a major leg up on their competitors who require financing, because there is less of a chance the sale would fall through.
And a city in the Southwest tops the list for all-cash deals.
Close to three-quarters of homes bought in Albuqurque, NM, were paid for in all cash, entirely bypassing the often nerve-wracking mortgage process.
In the high-desert city with a population of more than a half-million, made famous as the setting of AMC’s “Breaking Bad,” 71% of home purchases were all-cash in October 2024, according to the latest figures available from Realtor.com®.
The median list price in New Mexico’s largest metro was $399,900 at the time.
Albuquerque’s all-cash share was more than double the national average of 34.6% of all-cash home purchases.
“Albuquerque is relatively affordable, which makes cash purchases easier,” says Realtor.com senior economist Joel Berner.
“It’s also an attractive market for investors … and investors are generally more able to pay in cash or secure their own financing other than a conventional mortgage.”
Berner adds that Albuquerque has led the national rate of all-cash purchases for a long time, “and the gap is growing.”
The West and South lead in cash deals
The top 10 cities where at least 40% of home purchases were paid for fully in cash were all located in the South and West, including three in Florida, two in Texas, and one each in New Mexico, South Carolina, Nevada, Alabama, and Tennessee.
Berner says that is because properties in those parts of the country are generally more affordable than in other market sectors.
Coming in at No. 2 behind Albuquerque is Myrtle Beach, SC, where all-cash homebuying deals accounted for just shy of 56% of residential real estate purchases during the same period, with the median list price standing at $340,000.
The City of North Port, FL, sandwiched between Tampa and Fort Myers along the Gulf Coast, saw all-cash home purchases top 47% in the fall, when the median list price hovered around $474,224, landing it in the third spot on the Realtor.com list.
According to Berner, the South Carolina and Florida locations have been attracting deep-pocketed house hunters looking to snap up beachside condominiums as second homes.
In January 2024, the share of homebuyers who made all-cash offers stood at 32% nationwide, marking the highest rate in a decade, according to the National Association of Realtors’ report from last March.
All-cash offers conquer all
All-cash deals tend to close faster, sometimes after just a couple of weeks, as opposed to mortgage transactions that could take a month or more.
For those reasons, sellers tend to favor would-be buyers who approach them with an all-cash offer over those who would require the involvement of a mortgage lender.
It’s important to note that the majority of homebuyers across the U.S. still rely on financing to purchase a home.
Real estate investors and vacation-home buyers make up the majority of all-cash buyers.
Repeat buyers are also more like to make an all-cash offer, rather than first-time buyers, because they can use the money from selling their previous property toward their next purchase.
U.S. cities with the biggest share of all-cash home purchases
1. Albuquerque, NM
All-cash purchase share: 71.4%
Median list price: $399,900
2. Myrtle Beach, SC
All-cash purchase share: 55.8%
Median list price: $340,000
3. North Port, FL
All-cash purchase share: 47.4%
Median list price: $474,224
All-cash purchase share: 47%
Median list price: $520,000
All-cash purchase share: 43.8%
Median list price: $429,900
All-cash purchase share: 43.2%
Median list price: $369,450
All-cash purchase share: 42.4%
Median list price: $525,000
All-cash purchase share: 41.6%
Median list price: $475,000
All-cash purchase share: 40.4%
Median list price: $299,947
All-cash purchase share: 40.3%
Median list price: $334,900
