Bypassing mortgage rates: Share of US homes bought with cash hits highest level in nearly a decade

Homebuyers who can afford to bypass the highest mortgage rates in two decades are increasingly forgoing financing and paying all cash. Homes purchased entirely with cash accounted for 34.1% of all sales in September, up from 29.5% a year earlier. That's the highest share since February 2014, according to a Redfin analysis of home sales in 40 of the nation’s most populous metropolitan areas. The trend reflects surging mortgage rates, which have made paying in cash more attractive. Still, all-cash home purchases fell 11% in September from a year earlier, which shows the broad home sales slowdown is helping boost all-cash transactions' portion of overall sales.