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April Cash Sales Share Dips to 37%

money-houseHome sales paid for in cash ticked down again in April but remained elevated compared to the pre-crisis norm.

According to CoreLogic [1] senior economist Molly Boesel [2], cash sales accounted for 36.8 percent of total home sales in April, down from 38.5 percent in March and 40.1 percent in April 2014.

The percentage of cash sales as a share of total transactions averaged approximately 25 percent prior to the housing crisis, Boesel said. It peaked in January 2011 at 46.2 percent.

The annual decline in cash sales share continues a streak that started in January 2013.

By transaction type, REO sales claimed the largest share of cash sales in April at 56.8 percent, followed by re-sales (36.3 percent) and short sales (35.1 percent).

"While the percentage of REO sales that were cash transactions remained high, REO transactions made up only 9.4 percent of total sales in April and therefore did not have a large influence on the overall cash sales share," Boesel said.

Newly built homes, which tend to be priced higher, accounted for 17 percent of April's cash sales.

Going by state, Florida had the highest concentration of cash transactions at 56.7 percent, with Cape Coral-Fort Myers taking the top spot among Core-Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) at a cash share of 66 percent.

Other states with high cash concentrations in April include New York (55.9 percent), South Dakota (55 percent), West Virginia (53.3 percent), and Alabama (52.2 percent).