Cash Home Sales Share Highest in New York

Cash home sales reached a peak in January of 2011, when 46.5% of all home were sold for cash. That peak was nearly double the pre-housing crisis average of around 25%. At the June rate of decline in monthly cash sales, that average should be reached again in mid-2017.

The five states where cash sales were highest in May were New York (47.0%), Florida (45.8%), Alabama (44.8%), New Jersey (40.7%) and Oklahoma (39.6%). Sales include new construction, resales, real-estate owned (REO) and short sales.

Cash sales for REO properties accounted for 57% of all cash sales, while cash sales for resales and short sales accounted for about 30.8% and 28.7%, respectively. All-cash sales of new homes came in at 15.6% of all new home sales.

As a percentage of all sales, REOs accounted for 6% of total June real-estate sales. In January 2011 REO sales accounted for nearly 24% of all sales.

Of the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas, the five Core-Based Statistical Areas with the greatest percentage of cash sales are:

• West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Delray Beach, Fla.: 55.5%
• Philadelphia, Pa.: 55.1%
• North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla.: 54.5%
• Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Fla.: 53.5%
• Detroit-Dearborn-Livonia, Mich.: 52.9%

The metro area with the lowest percentage of cash sales was Washington, D.C.-Arlington-Alexandria, Va., with a cash sales share of 13.4% of all sales.

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