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Cash Sales Share Continues 23-Month Declining Streak

money-houseThe share of all-cash home sales edged up slightly month-over-month in November but continued to fall on an annual basis, CoreLogic reported Wednesday.

According to the company, cash sales made up 36.1 percent of total home sales in November, down from 38.8 percent a year prior. The drop marks the 23rd straight month of year-over-year declines, CoreLogic said.

Compared to October, the cash sales share was up about half a percentage point, "as is typical for the fall and winter months," said Molly Boesel, senior economist at CoreLogic. Due to the housing market's seasonality, Boesel says cash sales share comparisons are more revealing on a year-over-year basis.

Despite continually falling for nearly two straight years, the share of cash sales still remains elevated from their pre-crisis norm by more than 10 percentage points. In its last estimate, CoreLogic predicted the cash sales share would decline back to those levels in 2017.

REO sales had the largest cash sales share in November, with 61.1 percent of sales made without financing. Resales had the second largest share at 35.2 percent, followed by short sales (32.7 percent) and new homes (16.3 percent).

Looking at all of November's sales numbers, CoreLogic estimates REO sales accounted for about 10 percent "and, therefore, had a small influence on the overall cash sales share."

Michigan had the largest cash sales share of any state at 54.4 percent, displacing Delaware—which didn't even show up in the top five in November after topping the list in October. West Virginia came in second at 53.3 percent, followed by the investor-friendly Florida (51.4 percent), Alabama (50.7 percent), and South Dakota (45.5 percent).

About Author: Tory Barringer

Tory Barringer began his journalism career in early 2011, working as a writer for the University of Texas at Arlington's student newspaper before joining the DS News team in 2012. In addition to contributing to DSNews.com, he is also the online editor for DS News' sister publication, MReport, which focuses on mortgage banking news.
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