Published October 8, 2026 in Market Update

Cash buyers took longer and paid less than loan buyers did

By Roberta Robledo

Real estate, MLS Market Update Cleaned

People say cash is king. Sellers hear it and picture a quick, clean close at full price. A cash offer lands on the table and it feels like the safe bet, the sure thing, the one to take. I pulled every listing through September 27, 2026, and what I found is a little different from that story.

Loan buyers moved faster and paid closer to full price

Of the 166 sales where I can see how the buyer paid, just 30 were cash. That is 18.1%. Another 124 used a loan. Cash was not the norm here. It was the exception.

Now here is the part that surprises most sellers. The typical cash buyer took 51 days to close. The typical loan buyer took 35 days. Loan buyers were 16 days faster than cash buyers, on the typical sale. That is not what the story says cash is supposed to do.

The price gap is just as striking. The typical cash buyer paid 93.7% of what the home first asked. The typical loan buyer paid 98.1%. That is a 4.4 percentage point difference. On a $253,000 home, that is real money a seller gives up by taking the cash offer at that lower share.

Loan buyers also came in at 100% of the last asking price on the typical sale. Cash buyers came in at 95.7%. So even after any price drops along the way, cash buyers still negotiated more off the final number.

Cash buyers here took longer to close than loan buyers did

Loan buyers closed in 35 days on the typical sale. Cash buyers took 51. So no, not here.

There is a common mistake sellers make here. They see a cash offer and assume speed and certainty mean they should take less. The numbers say you do not have to. Loan buyers in this market have been closing faster and paying more. If a cash offer comes in noticeably below asking, the data says you have real reason to push back or wait for a financed offer.

That said, not every loan buyer is the same. Rates matter. The 30-year fixed averaged 7.28% as of October 1, 2026, up from 6.34% a year ago, according to Freddie Mac's weekly rate survey. Higher rates can slow some buyers down or shrink what they qualify for. But in this market, loan buyers are still showing up and closing.

What this means for you right now

If you are selling, thank you for reading this far, because this one really matters. Do not let the word "cash" talk you into a lower price before you have looked at the full picture. In this market, 47.2% of the homes for sale right now have already dropped their price, with a typical cut of $15,000. You do not want to give away that same ground twice, once in a price drop and again in a cash discount. The typical home that sold in the first month got 100% of what it first asked. Price it right from the start and you may not need to choose between a cash offer and a good one.

If you are buying with a loan, this is genuinely good news. You are not at a disadvantage here. Loan buyers closed faster and paid less off asking than cash buyers did in this market. With existing-home sales running at 3.98 million nationally and supply sitting at 4.9 months as of August 2026 (National Association of Realtors), competition has eased a little compared to a year ago. Use that. Come in with a clean offer and a solid pre-approval, and you are in a strong position.