Nearly one third of US homebuyers in the last 6 months have paid all cash to avoid high mortgage rates

• In the past six months, nearly a third of US homebuyers have made purchases with all cash. 
• That's largely due to buyers looking to sidestep the costs of rising mortgage rates. 
• Commentators are divided on where US housing is headed, with some seeing a rebound in 2024.

Nearly a third of homebuyers have been paying for houses entirely in cash in order to avoid rising mortgage rates, according to the National Association of Realtors.

In the past six months, over a quarter of US homebuyers made all-cash purchases, according to NAR data. About 28% of sales were made entirely in cash in February, down slightly from the 29% of all-cash sales in January, the group said on Tuesday.