Realtracs MLS data as of October 27, 2026
How Coffee County Homes Were Bought: Cash, Conventional, FHA and VA
Sellers ask me how many buyers pay cash, and buyers ask whether an FHA or VA offer can compete. This page answers both with real Realtracs MLS sales from Coffee County over the last year: how each home was paid for, what it sold for, and how long it took from contract to closing.
The sales figures cover the last 12 full months, October 2025 through September 2026, with the prior 12 months, October 2024 through September 2025, for comparison.
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How this page sorts sales
When a sale closes, the listing agent records the closing terms in Realtracs MLS: Conventional, Cash, FHA, VA, Other and a few less common choices such as Auction. This page groups every sale by that one field. Other is a choice in the MLS field, and the export does not say which loan or arrangement it was, so I do not guess. Auction, not available and blank entries are combined and shown as a count only (10 auction, 4 not available, 2 blank).
Sales by closing terms
| Closing terms | Closed sales | Share of sales | Median sale price | Median sale to list price | Median days on market | Median days contract to closing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conventional loan | 363 | 42.1 percent | $353,392 | 100 percent | 29 | 30 |
| Cash | 167 | 19.4 percent | $293,900 | 97.5 percent | 24 | 23 |
| FHA loan | 161 | 18.7 percent | $300,000 | 100 percent | 29 | 32 |
| VA loan | 91 | 10.6 percent | $355,000 | 100 percent | 39 | 33 |
| Other | 64 | 7.4 percent | $274,125 | 99.8 percent | 40 | 33 |
| Auction, not available or blank | 16 | 1.9 percent | Not shown | Not shown | Not shown | Not shown |
| All sales | 862 | 100 percent | $324,700 | 100 percent | 28 | 30.5 |
Closed sales from October 2025 through September 2026. Sale to list price is the sale price divided by the final list price in the MLS; a few sales with no list price are left out of that column. Days on market and days from contract to closing use the MLS fields of the same names. Medians are shown only for groups with at least 10 sales.
What the numbers show
- Most buyers used a loan. Conventional, FHA and VA loans together covered 71.3 percent of sales, and conventional loans alone covered 42.1 percent.
- About one sale in five was cash: 167 of 862, or 19.4 percent. That share was close to the prior year, 19.2 percent.
- Cash sales closed fastest, with a median of 23 days from contract to closing. Conventional loans had a median of 30 days, FHA 32 and VA 33.
- The median cash sale closed at 97.5 percent of the final list price. Conventional, FHA and VA sales each had a median of 100 percent.
- VA sales had the highest median sale price, $355,000, with conventional close behind at $353,392. FHA sales had a median of $300,000 and cash sales $293,900.
- VA sales had a longer median time on market, 39 days, than conventional and FHA sales, which each had 29.
A median is the middle sale, not a promise. Each group is a different mix of homes, prices and locations, so a lower median for one group does not mean that kind of buyer pays less for the same home.
This year compared with last year
| Closing terms | Sales, October 2024 through September 2025 | Share | Sales, October 2025 through September 2026 | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conventional loan | 325 | 40.3 percent | 363 | 42.1 percent |
| Cash | 155 | 19.2 percent | 167 | 19.4 percent |
| FHA loan | 167 | 20.7 percent | 161 | 18.7 percent |
| VA loan | 93 | 11.5 percent | 91 | 10.6 percent |
| Other | 41 | 5.1 percent | 64 | 7.4 percent |
| Auction, not available or blank | 25 | 3.1 percent | 16 | 1.9 percent |
| All sales | 806 | 100 percent | 862 | 100 percent |
The mix moved only a little. Conventional loans rose from 40.3 percent to 42.1 percent of sales, FHA went from 20.7 percent to 18.7 percent, and VA went from 11.5 percent to 10.6 percent.
Manchester and Tullahoma
| Closing terms | Manchester sales | Manchester share | Tullahoma sales | Tullahoma share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conventional loan | 170 | 42.8 percent | 161 | 41.4 percent |
| Cash | 61 | 15.4 percent | 90 | 23.1 percent |
| FHA loan | 78 | 19.6 percent | 73 | 18.8 percent |
| VA loan | 47 | 11.8 percent | 34 | 8.7 percent |
| Other | 32 | 8.1 percent | 25 | 6.4 percent |
| Auction, not available or blank | 9 | 2.3 percent | 6 | 1.5 percent |
| All sales | 397 | 100 percent | 389 | 100 percent |
Cash made up 15.4 percent of sales in Manchester and 23.1 percent in the Coffee County portion of Tullahoma. Manchester means a Manchester address with ZIP code 37355, as on my Coffee County housing market report. Tullahoma covers the Coffee County portion only; see my Tullahoma housing market report.
What this means if you are selling
About seven out of ten sales here closed with a conventional, FHA or VA loan, so most of your buyers will likely need a loan. A loan adds steps: the lender orders an appraisal, and FHA and VA appraisals also look at minimum property requirements, so needed repairs can come up. My home appraisal guide explains how that works.
A cash offer usually skips the loan approval and lender appraisal steps, and in this data cash sales closed faster. A financed offer at a higher price can still leave you with more. When offers come in, I compare price, earnest money, contingencies, closing date and who pays which costs, then show you what each one could net using my seller closing costs guide. My step by step selling guide covers the rest.
What this means if you are buying
FHA and VA buyers closed on 252 homes in Coffee County in the last year, and the median FHA and VA sale closed at 100 percent of list price, the same as conventional. A clean offer and a lender who answers quickly matter more than the loan type alone. Start with a lender preapproval, then read my guides to FHA loans, VA loans, USDA loans and THDA down payment assistance. My how much house can I buy post helps you set a budget.
About these numbers
- Source: Realtracs MLS, residential property in Coffee County, Tennessee. Data as of October 27, 2026.
- Period: closed sales from the last 12 full months, October 2025 through September 2026, and the prior 12 months, October 2024 through September 2025.
- Scope: the same homes as my Coffee County housing market report (862 sales, median $324,700). Manufactured homes are excluded; see my manufactured and modular homes guide.
- Closing terms come from one MLS field entered by the listing agent. A few sales may be labeled differently than you would expect, and Other is not broken out in the data.
- Medians are shown only for groups with at least 10 sales.
- Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Compiled by Matt Sargent with Keller Williams from Realtracs MLS data. Past results are not a guarantee of future results.
Fair housing note: this page describes how homes were paid for, not who bought them. Every home is open to every buyer, and every lawful form of payment deserves a fair look.
This page is general information, not lending or legal advice. Talk with your lender about your loan and with your closing attorney or title company about your contract.
Want to talk through an offer?
Whether you are weighing a cash offer against a financed one or getting ready to buy with an FHA or VA loan, I can walk through the numbers with you. Call or text me at (615) 497 1658, or request my buyer guide.
Common questions
How many Coffee County homes sell for cash?
From October 2025 through September 2026, 167 of the 862 residential sales in Coffee County closed as cash sales, or 19.4 percent, based on the closing terms entered in Realtracs MLS. In the prior 12 months the share was 19.2 percent.
What is the most common way buyers pay for a home in Coffee County?
A conventional loan. 363 sales, or 42.1 percent, closed with conventional financing from October 2025 through September 2026. FHA loans were 18.7 percent of sales and VA loans were 10.6 percent.
Do cash buyers in Coffee County pay less?
Cash sales had a median sale price of $293,900 and a median sale to list price of 97.5 percent, compared with 100 percent for conventional, FHA and VA sales. That is a median across different homes, not proof that any one cash offer will be lower.
How long does it take to close on a house in Coffee County?
In the MLS contract to close field, the median for all sales from October 2025 through September 2026 was 30.5 days. Cash sales had a median of 23 days, conventional 30 days, FHA 32 days and VA 33 days. Your own timeline depends on your contract.
How many VA loan home sales were there in Coffee County?
91 sales closed with VA financing from October 2025 through September 2026, 10.6 percent of all residential sales, with a median sale price of $355,000. In Manchester there were 47 and in the Coffee County portion of Tullahoma there were 34.
Should a seller always take a cash offer?
Not always. A cash offer usually has no loan approval or lender appraisal step, which can mean fewer things that can go wrong. A financed offer at a higher price can still net you more. Compare price, earnest money, contingencies, closing date and who pays which costs before you decide.
Matt Sargent is a Tennessee licensed affiliate broker with Keller Williams who helps buyers and sellers in Manchester and Coffee County. Call (615) 497 1658 or send a message.