Older Boomers Enter ‘Cash Is King’ Era as 46% Buy Homes Outright Without a Mortgage

Nearly half of baby boomers buying homes are making all-cash offers, according to a new report.

Among boomers aged 71 to 79, 46% purchased their home without financing, while 39% of boomers aged 61 to 70 paid cash, according to the National Association of Realtors® 2026 Generational Trends Report.

For comparison, 26% of all buyers paid cash for their home, a share that shrinks to just 3% for younger millennials and 7% for older millennials.

Among baby boomers who did finance their homes, 26% of younger boomers and 35% of older boomers used financing to account for less than 50% of the cost of their home, compared with 13% of buyers aged 18 to 26 and 12% of buyers aged 26 to 35. It shows that even when boomers pursue financing, they're financing much less of the cost of the home than other generations.

That's because boomers are often economically advantaged, having purchased and built equity in a previous property.

"Older boomers aren’t necessarily rejecting mortgages. Instead, they are often converting equity in their current home into a new home. At ages 71 to 79, the question is less ‘Can I qualify for a loan?’ and more ‘Would taking on a monthly payment improve my retirement plan?’" says John Donikian, vice president of Best Interest Financial in Detroit.

For many older homebuyers, it doesn't make sense to be saddled with a mortgage payment if they can help it.

"Older buyers have always preferred entering their retirement without any debt," says Daniel Cabrera, owner and founder of Sell My House Fast in San Antonio, TX. Paying all cash "reflects the mindset they have maintained all their lives."

Boomer buyers are making all-cash offers for a couple of reasons. For one, many are already homeowners, so they can take advantage of the equity they've built in their current properties. And with interest rates currently hovering around 6.7%, "cash is both a comfortable and rational choice," Cabrera says.

On the other hand, he notes, "putting hundreds of thousands of dollars into a house means moving liquid funds that could help deal with healthcare and long-term care costs into an illiquid asset that is hard to access without selling the property or establishing a home equity line of credit. The money is essentially locked away behind the wall."

"Many baby boomers are carrying decades of home equity into their next move, giving them the option to downsize or even upgrade their home without financing. While cash can strengthen an offer, eliminate a monthly mortgage payment, and provide valuable certainty in retirement, it doesn't automatically make it the smartest move," says David Temko, president of C2 Financial, a wholesale mortgage brokerage company based in San Diego.

Temko recommends that cash-flush buyers—no matter their age—meet with a mortgage broker to weigh their options and understand how different financing options might affect their quality of life.

Boomers are buying new homes to stay connected to family.

Samantha Midler of Austin Portfolio Real Estate in Austin, TX, says she often sees boomer buyers looking to move closer to their children.

"Boomers were the type of generation where they bought one home and didn't move," she says. "They raised their kids in the same city, and I don't think they would move if it weren't for the millennial generation moving out of their hometown and finding a new city to live in."

Midler says her mother is in the process of doing the same: "My mother just sold our childhood home, and she paid cash to buy a condo nearby where my brother and his children live. It's exciting to see my mom move out of our childhood home where she's lived for 40 years and embrace the change just to be closer to her grandkids."

The lesson for other generations? Building equity creates purchasing power, which offers greater freedom down the road.

"Paying cash can make an offer more attractive, simplify the transaction, and eliminate mortgage interest and monthly principal-and-interest payments," says Donikian. "For retirees on a fixed income, that predictability can provide valuable peace of mind."