Tag Archives: All-cash

The second quarter of 2014 saw fewer all-cash home sales than the first quarter as institutional investors backed off from the market. In a quarterly report released Tuesday, RealtyTrac reported all-cash transactions made up 37.9 percent of all single-family home and condo sales in April, May, and June, down from the first quarter's three-year high of 42.0 percent but up from 35.7 percent in the year-ago quarter.

Home sales transacted in cash slipped again in May, falling to a four-year low but remaining elevated compared to the long-run average. According to sales data put together by CoreLogic, cash sales made up 34.4 percent of total home sales in May, down from 37.4 percent a year prior. It was the lowest share since May 2010, when all-cash sales started ramping up to an eventual peak of 46.2 percent in January 2011.

In response to recent bearish housing outlooks, Altos Research recently released its own decidedly more positive forecast. "It's scary to be a contrarian, particularly if you're contrarian and bullish. In retrospect, this position is the most fun—if you're right," said Michael Simonsen, co-founder and CEO of Altos.

According to CoreLogic senior economist Molly Boesel, 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.

Cash sales declined year-over-year in Q1 in 102 of the 126 metro areas Zillow observes. "[I]t's heartening to see more buyers armed with traditional financing begin to enter the market," said Stan Humphries, chief economist at Zillow. "This is a critical step on the way back to a more normal, balanced housing market." Despite the recent trend, "it's pretty clear that cash is still king, especially at the lower end of the market," according to Humphries.

For March, CoreLogic reports cash sales accounted for 38.7 percent of total home sales, down from 40.2 percent the prior month and 41 percent a year before. Due to the seasonal nature of the housing market, CoreLogic senior economist Molly Boesel said the year-over-year comparison provides a better picture of the decline in cash sales.

The mortgage meltdown and its somewhat predictable fallout—tighter regulations that ensure such a crisis cannot recur but choke lending and borrowing at the source—have led to an equally inevitable outcome: a glut in cash sales for homes. A recent report by Redfin shows that in 17 metro markets in the United States, a full third of sales this year have been all-cash deals. And that figure has been essentially flat since 2011.

A new report from RealtyTrac indicates all-cash home sales accounted for 42.7 percent of first-quarter purchases, a record high since the company started tracking the data in 2011. "Strict lending standards combined with low inventory continue to give the advantage to investors and other cash buyers in this housing market," said Daren Blomquist, VP at RealtyTrac.

A survey of real estate agents released Monday finds a growing number of homeowners have turned to all-cash financing in order to avoid the red tape that comes with mortgage lending. According to the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey, an estimated 26.2 percent of home purchases by current homeowners in March relied solely on cash, up from a 12-month low of 22.8 percent recorded last August.

ZipRealty released an analysis of its transactions from January 2012 through December 2013, concluding that nearly one of every four closed without financing. While still high, that share is an improvement from only a few years ago, says Lanny Baker, president and CEO of ZipRealty. “Nationwide, the percentage of all-cash real estate transactions reached a five-year high in 2010 at 27 percent,” Baker said.