How Common Are Cash Buyers, and What Does That Mean for Denver Buyers?

How can I use these findings?

Prepare lender-reviewed financing and a realistic closing timeline before making an offer. When a property attracts competing bids, discuss the information available about those offers and which price, timing and contract terms you can sustain. Do not assume the national cash share is the mix on that listing. Our larger-down-payment calculation also makes a tradeoff visible: less borrowing reduces P&I but uses cash that might otherwise remain available for repairs and emergencies.

Which buyers are represented by each percentage?

The primary-residence comparison describes first-time versus repeat buyers. International buyers include a different defined population, so 48% is context, not a third directly interchangeable primary-residence cohort.

Our original gap is 22 percentage points between repeat and first-time groups. It does not mean 22% of first-time buyers lost a bid to a repeat buyer, and it cannot quantify cash competition in Denver.

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Sources: NAR 2025 Profile release: July 2024–June 2025 primary-residence buyer transactions; NAR 2026 International Transactions: April 2025–March 2026; NAR: Dr. Jessica Lautz, Leaders in Luxury presentation, October 12, 2026; underlying research resources

How much borrowing does more purchase cash remove?

At a hypothetical $700,000 purchase price, increasing the down payment from 20% to 40% reduces the loan by$140,000. At 6.5% over 30 years, that changes principal and interest by approximately$885 a month. It leaves less purchase cash available for other uses.

The $700,000 amount matches the September Denver and Jefferson county single-family medians only as a benchmark. The model does not establish that buyers in those counties used either down payment or that a larger down payment is preferable.

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Sources: REcolorado / InfoSparks: September 2026 monthly county single-family-residence snapshot; extracted October 12, 2026; Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: understanding a Loan Estimate and full payment components

What cannot be inferred from cash status?

Cash status alone does not establish offer quality, price, motivation or a seller’s preferred terms. Cash purchases still involve property due diligence and ownership expenses. National wealth and cash statistics do not prove a local causal relationship.