The City Where People Pay Cash for Houses

"Many Americans take out mortgages to pay for their homes. As of now, this mortgage rate is generally close to 7%, about double what it was three years ago. Rising mortgage rates generally reduce demand and put downward pressure on prices.However, because the U.S. has extremely low housing inventory, prices continued to rise in many markets despite high rates. People with 3% mortgages hold onto their homes because of relatively low monthly payments, lowering the inventory of homes for sale."

"This post was updated on December 11, 2025 to include a section on why cash buyers have the advantage in today's market.Where Buyers Use Cash Most of the markets where most people pay cash for homes are in Florida. Among the top five, Naples is followed by Northport (53%), Palm Bay (49%), and Cape Coral (48%). Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, (53%) was the only city in the top five that was not in Florida. The data come from Redfin."

Mortgage rates are currently around 7%, roughly double levels three years ago, which typically reduces demand and pressures prices downward. Extremely low U.S. housing inventory has counteracted rate-driven declines, allowing prices to rise in many markets. Homeowners with 3% mortgages are reluctant to sell because of low monthly payments, further constraining inventory. Approximately one-third of home sales in August were cash transactions, with places like Naples, Florida, having up to 60% cash sales. Many top cash-buy markets are in Florida; Myrtle Beach was the only non-Florida city among the top five. San Jose had the lowest cash-buy share at 19%.

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