Almost two-thirds of Florida housing sales in the first quarter of this year were done in cash, according to the study by the research firm RealtyTrac. That is the highest rate in the nation and well above the national average of 42.7 percent.
Five Florida metro areas also had the nation’s highest rates of cash sales. Those areas were Miami, Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Sarasota, Palm Bay and Lakeland.
High rates of cash sales show that investors are still finding Florida popular. Although the percentage of institutional investors has declined from the end of 2013, mom-and-pop investors and foreign investors are finding Florida attractive.
Meanwhile in Manhattan, 58 percent of condo sales, 36 percent of co-op sales and 73 percent of single-family sales were all-cash deals in the first quarter of 2014, according to data from Miller Samuel. The blended share, therefore, would be 45 percent.