[sharkmerry]

just curious if you have any data to support this?

> the 20% of home purchases without any mortgage,

I found a report that 30-34% own their homes completely but thats not new purchases. Its mostly people who've owned more than 20 years

[notacoward]

I haven't been able to find what I consider a truly authoritative source, but I've seen these figures many places (perhaps as a side effect of having gone through the process of buying a second house). Here's one example.

https://www.supermoney.com/studies/mortgage-industry-study/

The closest I can find to a real source is the National Association of Realtors, which claims 88% of purchases are financed.

https://www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics/research-rep...

The 30-34% number is probably more important, though, because paying off early also results in an immediate cost-of-living decrease - and a significant one, I can add from personal experience. ;)