"Most people pay cash"

laurenluckett · August 2013

We asked a realtor how much the avg is for people who are purchasing a home. The response was, "well, most people pay cash." ummm...who has $500k or better just laying around the house?

My realtor MIL laughed and asked who told us this information.

Anyone paying for their house with cash?

mgarza1231 · August 2013

Homes in my area average at $150,000 and it's still pretty rare to pay cash for a house. I think it depends on the area.

tmp-6740055 · August 2013

We did run into one cash bidder that won out on one house against us when we were buying our home. However, my father is a real estate attorney and I can tell you from working in his office that only some people pay with cash- very, very far from most.

Kat174 · August 2013

cash is 1/6th of my payment... loan on the rest. i've seen cash ppl, but they are usually older or canadian. canadian being that they can't always get a credit score down here because of the differences in credit beuros (sp?) so they have to pay cash.

TarHeels&Rebels · August 2013

Our buyers paid cash, but he was a doctor, she was a banker, they were in their 60s, and our house was to be their second vacation home. Not at all typical. When friends would ask how selling was going, I said we had a cash offer and everyone said, "wow, you don't hear that often." So yeah, whoever told you that is full of it. I'd be tempted to find another agent - either they're so out of it they won't be able to help you or they play in such big leagues they won't be a good representative for someone of average means.

vpine · August 2013

That's unusual - most people don't have that type of cash

Sisugal · August 2013

We had a 40% down payment on our first home and 80% on our second.

We have a high number of cash buyers for lower end homes as this is a college town and they are a hot commodity for rentals, investments or a parent provided home for kids to live in while going to school and then sold upon graduation instead of dorm life or renting.

This is also a popular retirement destination and there have been a number of 1M+ homes that are cash buys.

Most purchases are still financed.

LoveKiss · August 2013

It really depends on the market. Large swaths of California, Florida, and the southwest states have seen an upsurge in investment buyers paying cash. If you happen to be in a market that is flush with investors, then the realtor's statement probably wasn't unrealistic.

Belle0720 · August 2013

I'm in California and our realtor and a few of our friends who recently bought homes have told us that cash offers aren't uncommon. From what I understand, they are mostly investment buyers like @LoveKiss said. One couple we know said that there was a cash offer on the house that they bought plus like 15 other offers--it's definitely a tough market for buyers!

We're in our mid/late 20s and buying our first house, a 3 bedroom 1.5 bath. At $432,500 for a short sale ($32,500 over asking price) there's absolutely no way we could pay cash!

...unless we win the lotto tomorrow night :-)

moonprincessd · August 2013

Hah! We didn't pay cash, we got a loan like most normal people and then paid the down payment using a cashier's check. I only ever heard of someone paying cash once in my life and that was my Aunt and Uncle. They paid cash on a mobile home in the middle of nowhere.

OctoberCAPA · August 2013

All-cash is fairly common where I am in California. It's a very HCOL, and a lot of buyers are investors or recent retirees who are selling the house they bought for $200k in 1985 for $1.6MM now. But cash isn't always king - we were up against an all-cash offer, but the sellers chose us. Friends of ours also rejected an all-cash offer. So don't get discouraged if you're going up against all-cash. A good letter, a good down payment, and favorable terms can still win it for you.

chicagobride_07 · August 2013

We heard this alot, too, especially when we were looking at townhouses. It's not at all made up- here, most of these folks were selling a home in which they had substantial equity and perhaps downsizing. If you own a home $1 million plus, selling and buying a townhome for $400-500K is not at all a stretch.

lmallory925 · August 2013

We lost a house on an offer to a cash bidder. She got the $$ from a divorce settlement (or at least that is what we heard) the house was 109,900.

Wulfgar · August 2013

The ones that tend to pay cash are investors looking for rental homes, people who are down sizing, etc. The average person (couple) buying a house to live in usually don't have the cash to buy a house but the trend is to have roughly 20% down especially with the changes to FHA and the fact that the insurance to cover not having 20% down now stays the life of the loan.

apparently · August 2013

Honestly, we are so picky that we haven't been able to find a house we want in 10 years of serious looking. We just threw all our money into savings. When that perfect house does appear (oh please god let it appear already) we will do a cash offer on it.

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