Why are listings sitting if inventory is actually low

The assumption doing the most work is that a cash buyer appears at a lower price point, but cash buyers in Akron's move-up range are thin too.

Your read on the market structure is solid. The inventory shortage and the stalled listings are describing the same thing from two angles, and northeast Ohio's move-up tier is a clear example of it right now.

The mechanism you are describing has a name in the strategy literature: rate lock-in effect. A buyer who borrowed at 3.1% in 2021 would see their monthly payment roughly double on a comparable loan today. So they stay put, which means their home never hits the market, which means the person who would have bought your six-bed cannot sell their place first. Supply looks tight on paper because very few homes are listed, but demand at your price point is also thin because the natural buyer pool is frozen. Both things are true at once.

The cash buyer pivot you are considering changes the problem entirely. Cash buyers are not hostage to rate math. They tend to be investors, estate buyers, or people who have already sold and are sitting on proceeds. The trade-off is that they typically expect a discount for that certainty and speed, so the question is whether the price you would need to reach them is better than the carrying cost of waiting for a financed buyer to unlock.

One number I would want to know before going that direction: what does your carrying cost look like per month, taxes, insurance, any debt service on the property? A $15,000 price cut looks different if you are burning $3,000 a month than if you are nearly free and clear.

A good local agent with cash buyer contacts and a real estate attorney to confirm deal structure are both worth the conversation before you move.

What is the monthly hold costing you right now?

A price cut that reaches cash clears the rate lock problem; a seller carry at the right terms does the same thing with less pain to your number.