A report by property data firm PEXA has found that 25.6% of residential properties purchased in the eastern states of Australia in 2022 were mortgage-free, totaling approximately $122.5 billion. This reflects a change in buyer behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic property boom. However, the proportion of properties purchased without a direct loan only accounts for a fraction of Australian households who already have no mortgage on their residential or investment properties. The study also found that cash purchases were concentrated in regional areas popular with older Australians. Queensland had the highest proportion of cash-funded properties at 26.7%, followed by New South Wales at 24.8%, and Victoria at 21.3%. Among the mortgage-free properties, houses and units were the most popular type with the highest median value of cash purchases in New South Wales reaching $850,000. The highest value of cash purchases was concentrated in urban centers across the three states, with Postcode 4218 in Queensland showing the most significant expenditure on cash purchases in 2022 alone at $1.33 billion.