What Percentage Do Cash Home Buyers Pay?

The short answer: 50-85% of after-repair value

When people ask "what percentage do cash home buyers pay," the honest answer is a range, not a single number. A national survey of more than 700 investors found the median cash offer was about 67.5% of a home's after-repair value (ARV). Across the industry, offers commonly land between 50% and 85% of ARV.

Two things move you within that range:

• Condition. A home that needs little work earns an offer near the top of the range. A home that needs a roof, HVAC, or full interior work sits lower, because those repair costs come out of the buyer's math.
• Local demand. In hot, low-inventory markets, buyers sometimes stretch to 75-80% of ARV. In slower markets, offers drift toward the lower end.

It is important to separate two figures people often confuse: a percentage of after-repair value (what the home is worth fixed up) is not the same as a percentage of current as-is value. A house that needs $50,000 of work has a much lower as-is value than its ARV, so an offer that looks like 70% of ARV can be much closer to as-is market value than the percentage alone suggests.

How a cash offer is actually calculated

Most reputable cash buyers use a version of the same formula that house flippers use, often called the 70% rule. It works backward from what the finished home will sell for:

Offer = (ARV × ~70%) − estimated repair costs

Here is a worked example using round numbers:

• Estimated after-repair value (ARV): $275,000
• $275,000 × 70% = $192,500
• Estimated repairs: $55,000
• Cash offer: $192,500 − $55,000 = $137,500

The roughly 30% the buyer holds back is not all profit. It has to cover the parts of the deal a seller never sees:

• Holding costs while the home is renovated and resold (property taxes, insurance, utilities, loan interest)
• Transaction costs on the resale (agent commission, title insurance, closing fees)
• The buyer's margin for risk and profit

This is why the percentage exists at all. A direct buyer takes on the repairs, the carrying time, and the resale risk that you would otherwise carry yourself.

Condition tiers and the percentage you can expect

Condition is the single biggest driver of where your offer lands. The table below shows general tiers. These are illustrative ranges, not guarantees, since every market and property is different.

The logic is straightforward: the more a buyer has to spend to bring the home to market, the more those costs shift the offer down. The percentage is not a penalty; it is the buyer's repair budget plus their risk buffer, expressed as a number.

Why the percentage is lower than a retail sale (and what it saves you)

A cash offer is usually below what a fully repaired home would fetch on the open market. But the headline sale price is not the same as what you keep. Selling on the open market carries real costs that come out of your proceeds:

• Agent commission. A February 2026 survey of agents put the national average at roughly 2.9% for the listing agent and 2.8% for the buyer's agent, so many sellers still pay around 5-6% combined.
• Seller closing costs. Title insurance, escrow/settlement fees, transfer taxes, and prorated property taxes typically add several more percent.
• Repairs and prep. Painting, servicing major systems, staging, and landscaping before listing.
• Buyer-requested repairs and concessions after inspection.
• Carrying costs while the home sits. A traditional sale often takes 45-90 days; a cash sale can close in roughly two to three weeks.

Industry guidance commonly puts total selling costs at 8-10% of the sale price once commissions, closing costs, and prep are added up. When you subtract all of that, plus the risk of a financed buyer's deal falling through, the gap between a retail sale and a cash offer is usually smaller than the sticker prices suggest.

When selling for cash actually makes financial sense

A cash offer is rarely the highest possible price, and a good buyer will tell you that. It makes the most sense when speed, certainty, and avoided costs are worth more to you than squeezing out the last few percent of price. Common situations:

• The home needs significant repairs you can't or don't want to fund up front.
• You need certainty and speed — a job relocation, a closing deadline, or a financial timeline that a 60-90 day listing can't meet.
• The property is inherited or vacant and carrying it (taxes, insurance, upkeep) is draining money every month.
• You're behind on payments and need to resolve things before they get worse.
• You want to skip showings, staging, and inspection negotiations entirely.

If your home is in good shape, financeable, and you're not under time pressure, the open market may still net you more. The right move is to compare your real net proceeds — not the gross price — under both paths.

How to tell if a cash offer is fair

A fair offer is one you can check. Ask any cash buyer to show their work:

• What ARV are you using, and from which comparable sales? The finished value should match recent sales of similar, updated homes nearby.
• What repair number did you assume, and for what scope? You should be able to see the line items.
• What percentage of ARV does the offer represent? A transparent buyer will tell you.

If a buyer won't explain how they reached the number, that is a red flag. A legitimate direct buyer should welcome the questions, put nothing in writing as binding until you sign a purchase agreement, and never pressure you to decide on the spot.