When it comes to buying a home, there are many different ways to get it done. For most people, using a mortgage is the preferred method as it allows them to buy the house they want and afford it by spreading the payments out over a period of time, often 30 years.
However, that's not the only way that you can buy a home. For decades, investors, individuals with the means, and even investment companies have been buying homes in cash due to the numerous advantages of immediately owning your home outright. But what if you're not an investor or flush with cash? How can you take advantage of the benefits of buying in cash?
By partnering with a company that helps you become a cash buyer. That's what we do at NAF Cash*. We turn regular buyers into cash buyers so they can get the home of their dreams. Why do we do it? As we said above, there are definite advantages to buying in cash, especially in today's housing market. And we want to bring those advantages to you.
So, let's take a look at whether now may be a good time to buy your house in cash and why.
The State of the Housing Market Today
Since 2020, one of the overarching themes in the housing market has been the decline in inventory. According to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, there were approximately 1.2 million homes listed for sale in October 2019.
As the calendar flipped to 2020, housing inventory began to decline. By April 2020, that figure was down to just shy of 940,000. From there, the number of homes listed for sale dropped precipitously.
By February 2022, there were just 345,000 homes available for sale in the entire country. Inventory has rebounded some since then, bouncing all the way back up to nearly 750,000 homes for sale in November 2022.
However, since then, inventory has mostly fallen back down and sat at just over 562,000 homes as of March 2023. That's nearly a million homes less than were on the market just seven years ago.
What does that mean for today's homebuyers? It means that the competition can get pretty fierce when there simply aren't enough homes on the market to satisfy the demand. That drives prices up.
House Prices Today
While home inventory has decreased over the last few years, home prices have done just the opposite. House prices have consistently risen over the last 70 years, but the increases became much more pronounced since 2020 as limited supply impacted house prices.
As of the end of 2022, the median sales price for houses sold in the U.S. was $467,700.
Despite prices rising to that level, the demand for houses is still strong, as 65% of the homes sold in March were on the market for less than a month, according to data from the National Association of Realtors.
This combination of limited supply, high demand, and rising prices make it a little difficult for some homebuyers to navigate the market and find the home of their dreams.
That's where buying in cash can help.
The Advantages of Buying a House in Cash
Buying in cash can help homebuyers alleviate some of the concerns found in today's market in a number of ways.
One way it can help is by potentially lowering the cost of the home you'd like to buy. In fact, studies have shown that buying in cash may help you save up to 11% over those using a traditional mortgage.** Here's why:
- Sellers may be more likely to give concessions to buyers who are bringing cash to the table, so to speak.
- Being a cash buyer means that your offer is more likely to go through, which makes it more likely to be accepted and may convince the seller to give you a break on the price.
- You may even be able to use those savings to buy down your interest rate which would lower your monthly mortgage payment.
More Ways Buying in Cash Can Help
By becoming a cash buyer with NAF Cash, you can make a competitive, true cash offer that is not contingent on financing and may be able to close on your new home in little as seven days
Buying in cash also helps your offer stand out if you end up in a multiple offer situation on the home you want. Sellers are more likely to pick the cash offer since they know that offer will go through. The last thing a seller wants, especially in today's market condition, is for the sale of their home to fall apart when it seemed like it was a done deal. Buying with cash can also simplify the purchase transaction, benefitting both the buyer and seller.
That's another area where being a cash buyer helps. And it's very important when you consider that there are fewer homes on the market than there were just a few years ago.
Buy Before You Sell
Many people may think that they have to sell their current home before they buy their new home, as they may not be able to carry that much debt concurrently or they may need the funds from the sale of their existing home to use as their down payment for their new home.
With NAF Cash, you also don't have to sell your current home before you buy your new one. That enables you find and buy the home of your dreams without worrying about what to do with your current home.
You get the certainty of buying without financing contingencies, the security of knowing your home purchase will close, and the convenience of closing fast, allowing you to avoid hotel costs and storage units while you transition from one house to another.
Combine all of that and you see the power associated with buying in cash.
With NAF Cash, you can become a cash buyer and get the home of your dreams, perhaps for less money than you thought.
If NAF Cash sounds right for you, we'd love to help you get started. Simply apply to become pre-qualified, we will underwrite you, and you'll be on your way to becoming a homeowner and taking advantage of all the benefits that being a cash buyer offers!
Apply*Loan products offered by New American Funding, LLC. dba New American Funding. NMLS #6606. www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org. Terms and Conditions apply. Loan products subject to credit and property approval. Not all applicants will qualify. © New American Funding, LLC. New American and New American Funding are registered trademarks of New American Funding, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Corp Office 14511 Myford Rd, Ste 100, Tustin, CA 92780. Ph 800-450-2010.
**According to a study from researchers at the University of California - San Diego, cash buyers have paid about 11% less than using a mortgage. Reher, Michael and Valkanov, Rossen, The Mortgage-Cash Premium Puzzle (September 24, 2021). Available at SSRN: ssrn.com/abstract=3751917 or dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3751917
