All-cash buyers accounted for 27.2% of single-family home and condo sales in the third quarter, down from 28.2% in the previous quarter but up from 26.7% in the third quarter of 2016, according to ATTOM Data Solutions.
“Across Southern California, home price appreciation and low listing inventory are contributing factors demonstrating a pent-up demand for home buyers wishing to take advantage of the benefits associated with homeownership,” reports Michael Mahon, president at First Team Real Estate, in ATTOM’s most recent quarterly home sales report. “With cash transactions accounting for nearly one out of five closed escrow transactions within our market, it is clear consumers continue to leverage all-cash offers as a method to offer differentiation, in attempts of purchasing a home.”
Metropolitan areas with the highest share of all-cash sales in the third quarter included Mobile, Ala. (53.8%); Tucson, Ariz. (50.4%); Scranton, Pa. (49.1%); Grand Rapids, Mich. (48.5%); and Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Fla. (46.6%).
Metro areas that saw the most growth in all-cash included Grand Rapids, Mich. (up 110%); Tucson, Ariz. (up 88%); Albany, N.Y. (up 87%); Modesto, Calif. (up 55%); and Chattanooga, Tenn. (up 49%).
About 2.7% of all single-family home and condo sales in the third quarter were to institutional investors (entities buying at least 10 properties in a calendar year), according to the report.
This was up from 2.1% in the previous quarter but down from 2.9% in the third quarter of 2016.
Metros with the highest share of institutional investor purchases during the quarter were Memphis, Tenn. (9.3%); Birmingham, Ala. (8.3%); Clarksville, Tenn. (6.9%); Charlotte, N.C. (6.6%); and Killeen, Texas (6.1%).
Counter to the national trend, 39 of the 132 metro areas analyzed (30%) posted a year-over-year increase in share of institutional investor purchases, including Clarksville, Tenn. (up 48%); Charlotte, N.C. (up 19%); Jacksonville, Fla. (up 5%); Nashville, Tenn. (up 28%); and Omaha, Neb. (up 6%).