Record Share of First-Time Buyers Pay Cash
California's housing market enters November split between easing pressure and a widening generational divide. Nationally, pending home sales have fallen to the lowest level on record, giving buyers more room to negotiate as inventory keeps climbing — Orange County is carrying about 17 percent more active listings than a year ago. Mortgage rates have eased for a third straight week following Tuesday's election, trimming monthly payments modestly. Yet the buyers closing deals skew older and wealthier: a record share of first-time buyers are paying in cash, increasingly funded by inheritances rather than savings. Meanwhile, foreclosure notices across California's 58 counties are holding at an elevated plateau, concentrated in Los Angeles County — a sign affordability stress hasn't fully lifted even as rates soften.
In The News:
NPR — First-time homebuyers remain scarce, but a record share of them pay all cash (November 5, 2026) — First-time buyers made up just 22 percent of the market, near a record low, according to a new National Association of Realtors survey. Among those who did buy, 1 in 10 paid entirely in cash, the highest share since records began in 2003. Nearly a third of all-cash first-time buyers tapped an inheritance, and the typical first-time buyer is now 40 years old, also a record. Generational wealth, not savings, increasingly decides who gets in.
Redfin — Homebuyers Get Some Relief as Prices Decline for Third Straight Week, Monthly Payments Dip (November 5, 2026) — Pending home sales fell 16.4 percent year over year in the four weeks ending November 1, the lowest level in records dating back to 2021, as new listings also hit a fresh low. Months of supply rose to 4.6 from 4, tilting leverage toward buyers nationally. San Francisco was the exception, with the median sale price up 17.3 percent year over year, the largest increase of any major metro.
Deseret News — What's happening with mortgage rates after the election? (November 5, 2026) — Mortgage rates fell for a third consecutive week after Democrats' midterm victories, with Freddie Mac's 30-year average easing to 7.18 percent and daily rates dipping to about 7.17 percent by Thursday. The drop followed stock market gains and lower Treasury yields tied to the election results, alongside falling oil prices on hopes of easing Middle East tensions. More than 40 percent of active listings nationwide now carry a price reduction.
Orange County Housing Report — Orange County Real Estate Market Report: November 2, 2026 — Closings Spike, Inventory Eases, and Why One Week Never Tells the Story (November 2, 2026) — Orange County closings jumped to 488 last week from 326 the week before, while active listings reached 4,945 — about 17 percent more than the same week last year and nearly 40 percent more than two years ago. The report cautions against reading too much into a single week, but notes the added supply simply gives buyers more choice than they've had in a couple of years, with conditions still within normal historical bounds for the county.
Properant — California Notice of Default List — 13,389 Active NODs (November 2026) (November 5, 2026) — California carried 13,389 active notices of default across all 58 counties as of early November, with filings holding steady week over week since late October. Los Angeles County accounts for the largest share, at roughly 22 percent of the statewide total. Over the past 12 months the state recorded 33,407 default notices and 18,740 sale notices, though default filings are down 24 percent over the last three months compared with the prior quarter.
