Top 10 States with the Most All-Cash Home Sales [2026 Statistics]

The mortgage process hasn’t gotten any faster, but buyers in some markets have.

Some 27 percent of all real estate transactions are all-cash deals.

That means when a homeowner is ready to sell, the buyer doesn’t always need a mortgage pre-approval, but rather just wire transfer details, an escrow account, and a deed.

Sellers prefer cash deals when they need to get out of their home fast, either for a life-changing event like relocation, or because the property has gotten too costly.

In such scenarios, investors can save the day by offering these sellers a lump-sum infusion of cash, sometimes even faster than an agent can get the “FOR SALE” sign hammered into the front yard.

The Surge of Cash Deals During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Cash deals aren’t exclusively for owners who need an exit plan, however. The frequency of cash deals exploded during the COVID-era housing market, when inventory was tight and interest rates were at all-time lows.

Cash deals had the power to quadruple buyers’ chances of acceptance, one Redfin study found.

“Home buyers had to sweeten offers by going over asking price, waiving contingencies and even going all cash,” said Doug Perry, strategic financing advisor at Real Estate Bees, a marketing platform for real estate professionals.

Yet, cash deals weren’t fool-proof. Competition still weeded buyers out. One D.C. real estate agent in 2021 reported receiving 76 all-cash offers on her suburban, fixer-upper home.

And as Kristina Morales, a Cleveland-based licensed mortgage loan originator and real estate agent, observed during COVID, cash deals did not mean an automatic discount on price.

“In fact, cash buyers were still paying over the list price,” Morales said. “Cash provided the edge when sitting next to 50 other offers.”

All-Cash Deals Today

All-cash deals rode a dramatic popularity high through the first quarter of 2024, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), before falling back to pre-pandemic levels later in the year.

Today, real estate investors buying vacation homes or rentals account for about half of all cash-buying activities.

A cash offer in the current market may once again provide some leverage on price, said Morales—but bets are still off when the buyer is in a multiple-offer situation.

“Despite high rates, low inventory keeps housing prices elevated and the potential for multiple offers fairly high,” she added.

While nationwide all-cash offers are less common in 2025 than in 2024, deals haven’t slowed in some hot markets.

Ahead, our online home selling platform, HouseCashin, compiled national and regional data from independent mortgage lender New American Funding (NAF).

It shows where all-cash sales are most common, with market estimates from HouseCashin and the Zillow Home Value Index to contextualize the uptick with concrete figures.

The list breaks down the top 10 states for all-cash real estate deals in 2024, followed by a snapshot of the remaining 40, looking at where the frequency of all-cash deals spiked the most.

We’ll also explore the economic and demographic forces that could be fueling the rise in cash purchases and look at what homeowners should expect when entertaining an all-cash bid.

#10 Ohio (31.5% of deals are cash sales)

Coming in at No. 10 is the Buckeye State, where 31.5 percent of homes were purchased with cash in 2024.

According to Zillow, the typical Ohio home value has risen 3.4 percent in the past year to $242,897 in 2025.

Meanwhile, HouseCashin estimates property taxes have also increased by 27.82 percent in 10 years.

Ten Ohio counties have experienced a double-digit upswing in all-cash sales since the prior year, which isn’t surprising given the state’s affordability. They are:

Morales said that in Cleveland, cash offers commonly come from out-of-state buyers moving to the area from a higher-cost area.

“The Cleveland market is always a strong market for investors because of the relatively low-acquisition costs and good rental income,” she explained. “I also see it from parents buying property for their child.”

As far as getting over asking, it’s a coin toss: about 1 in 3 homes (35.9 percent) are selling for more than their listing price, while nearly half go for under (46.4 percent).

In a market this mixed, smart pricing and building relationships with the right buyer makes all the difference in how your listing performs.

#9 Maine (33.4% of deals are cash sales)

In this scenic state with 3,500 miles of coastline, homes sold for cash 33.4% of the time in 2024 and in 2025 are valued at $416,948 on average. That’s up 1.1 percent over the past year.

Not every property sells for its listing price, however: Zillow reports the median list price is $429,300, while median sale price is slightly lower, at $391,667.

A reported 36.1 percent of homes sell for over list price, and 47.8 percent sell under.

Piscataquis County saw the largest uptick in all-cash home purchases in Maine, with cash deals rising from 38% in 2023 to 39% in 2024, according to NAF data. That’s a 2.6% increase.

According to the aforementioned data from HouseCashin, property tax in Maine has crept up by 35.53 percent in the past 10 years, which may be a contributing factor for motivating sellers to offload their houses.

#8 Louisiana (34.1% of deals are cash sales)

Louisiana is experiencing an epic surge in cash home sales as well. Here, 34.1 percent of homes across the state get sold for cash.

In its leading county, Madison Parish, that rate is higher at 45 percent, nearly double its 2024 percentage.

As you can see, the growth of cash home sales varies drastically among Louisiana’s top 10 counties:

Home values are rising in the northeastern corner of Louisiana, where quaint cities like Tallulah invite residents to go birding under the shade of cypress and tupelo trees.

Compared to the rest of the state, which is seeing a 1.4 percent drop in home values, Tallulah’s properties are up 1.3 percent, and it’s still extremely affordable, with home values averaging just $79,778 compared to typical Louisiana property values, which average $212,343 statewide.

Property tax is hitting Louisiana homeowners exceptionally hard: the aforementioned HouseCashin data shows taxes across the state have risen a staggering 74.32 percent over the past decade.

#7 North Carolina (34.3% of deals are cash sales)

Whether they’re eager to trek the scenic Blue Ridge mountains or pick sunflowers in the Piedmont, North Carolina buyers are offering up cash for their new homes.

An estimated 34.3 percent of real estate deals are all-cash transactions in North Carolina.

The average 2025 home value in North Carolina is $337,457, a slight 0.6 percent dip from last year.

According to Zillow, listings move to “pending” in about 18 days, though 56.3 percent of sales in 2025 are currently selling for under listing price.

These North Carolina counties had the biggest jump in cash sales in 2024:

Property tax increases have been more moderate in North Carolina, growing 28.55 percent over the last decade according to the aforementioned HouseCashin data.

#6 South Carolina (35.2% of deals are cash sales)

An estimated 35.2 percent of real estate sales in South Carolina are cash deals, according to NAF data.

The average Palmetto State home value is $304,173, down slightly by 0.3 percent from 2024.

While South Carolina’s spikes are not extremely dramatic—counties saw jumps between 7.4 and 27.3 percent—the state is among the top-three states with increasing mortgage delinquency rates.

That, along with more natural disasters (and expensive insurance premiums), suggests that more cash sales might be on the horizon.

One factor that may temper buyer interest, however, is excess supply: South Carolina just received an “A” marking on Realtor.com’s housing affordability report card because its property development efforts are currently outpacing demand.

Meanwhile, property taxes have increased at a rate of about 31% over the last 10 years.

These counties had the largest positive rate change in cash offers from 2023 to 2024:

#5 Alabama (36.7% of deals are cash sales)

Between 2022 and 2023, Alabama’s population grew by 34,000 people, ranking as the eighth-highest state for inbound moves.

Between white sand beaches and notable cities steeped in Civil Rights history, it doesn’t take much to persuade buyers to take advantage of Alabama’s affordable housing market, where the average home value is $234,052.

Zillow estimates that 19.1% of homes in Alabama sell for over listing price, after sitting on the market for about 23 days.

Property taxes statewide have risen a moderate 33.46 percent over the past 10 years, according to the aforementioned HouseCashin data.

Cash offers represent 36.7 percent of all real estate deals in Alabama, with the following counties demonstrating the most growth from the year prior:

#4 Georgia (37.5% of deals are cash sales)

Along with South Carolina, the Peach State is experiencing economic factors driving more mortgage foreclosures.

For one, property taxes have swelled a bit, growing 30.45 percent in the past decade (one article reported that bump has equaled about $700 in the past five years).

And while average home values, at $335,963, are below the national median sale price of $410,800, prices have leapt by 65% since 2019.

It’s therefore no surprise that Georgia is among the top 10 states for cash home sales. Statewide, an estimated 37.5 percent of deals are cash offers. These are the counties that jumped most:

#3 Delaware (38.9% of deals are cash sales)

One county is doing the heavy lifting in Delaware: Kent County, where the rate of cash sales jumped from 32% to 38% (+18.8%).

Zillow estimates the average home value in Delaware to be $405,948, up 1.9 percent from last year.

In this tax-haven state, property taxes have risen a steady 31.76 percent over the last 10 years.

#2 New York (40.4% of deals are cash sales)

Even in a mayoral election year, which some speculate is giving New York real estate buyers pause, the Empire State is the No. 2 highest for cash deals.

The most expensive state on the list, average home values in New York are $508,154, according to Zillow, which is up an impressive 4.7 percent since 2024.

Alongside these jumps are, of course, a steady increase in property taxes, which have swelled 46.02 percent in the past 10 years.

Meanwhile, an encouraging 44.8 percent of homes sell for above their listing price.

Cash deals in New York make up over 40 percent of real estate sales, with the following counties experiencing most growth:

#1 West Virginia (41.1% of deals are cash sales)

John Denver is no longer West Virginia’s biggest fan, as the mountainous state recently ranked the No. 1 destination for inbound movers.

Yes, while snowbirds and retirees fly to the Carolinas, Florida, Alabama, and Arkansas, a significant flock of them also landed in West Virginia, causing a 65% inbound population flow—more than any other state.

Affordability is one big attraction: The average West Virginia home value is $169,928, up 2.3 percent from 2024, yet it still remains the state with the highest percentage of homeowners.

Some 75.4% of people own their homes in West Virginia, according to HouseCashin’s home ownership data, compared to the lowest state, New York, which comes in at 54.8%.

However, property taxes in West Virginia have jumped 39.97 percent in the past decade, according to the aforementioned data from HouseCashin.

An estimated 41.1 percent of real estate deals in West Virginia were made with cash in 2024. These counties saw the largest leap:

Some states saw dramatic growth for cash offers from 2024 and even outpaced states where a higher amount of cash transactions took place:

Three of these states—Colorado, Oregon, and Texas—also happen to be popular states for real estate investors, according to data from HouseCashin.

Characteristic signs of a hot investor market include rising rent prices—rents have jumped 56.69 percent, 47.55 percent, and 37.66 percent, respectively, in the above states—along with steady property appreciation.

Morales argued that today’s high mortgage rates could also be contributing to the spike in cash sales.

“With higher interest rates, buyers are paying cash or very large down payments to avoid higher interest,” she explained.

However, she added that higher rates have also reduced the buyer pool, so with the decrease in competition, some buyers who could pay cash choose not to since the need to outbid other buyers is not as intense.

Like all things money-related, these factors are wholly personal and depend on the buyers’ priorities.

Top Counties in the Remaining States

While these states didn’t make the superlative list, some of the leading counties inside them tripled or quadrupled their cash-sale amounts from 2023 to 2024.

Cash offers may sound like the holy grail, but it’s important to know what green flags to look out for that indicate your deal will go through when considering selling your house to a real estate investor.

“The reality is, not all cash buyers are as they appear,” warned Perry. Outside of specialized companies that buy houses for cash, who often have capital ready to deploy on a big purchase, he said a “very small few” of individual buyers actually have the available cash to complete the transaction.

When you need to sell your house fast and for cash to a professional cash buyer, stay vigilant and check the company you are dealing with.

It helps to request a cash offer on your home from a platform that vets investors for reputation and experience.

The most common way for individuals to have cash ready to go is if they’ve already sold their departing residence and have the liquid proceeds from that sale.

Others might have to look into creative financing like Buy Before You Sell (BBYS) loans or Home Equity Investments (HEI) options that involve an investor, suggested Perry.

When you find the right buyer, however, cash sales can have enormous benefits.

Most notably, there are fewer contingencies when selling to someone outright, meaning you don’t have to wait for financing or inspections like you would with a traditional mortgage.

Of course, buyers can always request an inspection, but because a third-party lender is not involved, nobody will require that due diligence.

The closing process is often more simplified as well, thanks to having fewer papers to sign.

Parties will need to prepare the title and deed, along with a settlement statement summarizing seller closing costs.

You’ll still need to involve a title company (professional cash buyers often use investor-friendly title companies) and escrow account, however, but without a financier there’s more flexibility to shop around for the right one.

While rates and market dynamics will always shift, one thing is certain: cash deals are a viable option in counties across the U.S.

Whether you’re a buyer hoping to stand out or a seller weighing your offers, cash remains a powerful—if somewhat unpredictable—player in today’s housing market.