More and more homebuyers and investors are coming to the negotiating table and closing deals with cash in hand.

A third of all U.S. single-family homes and condominiums sold in the second quarter were purchased with cash, up from 20.6% a year prior, the highest percentage since the first quarter of 2015.

In New York the figure is 52%, but some metro areas saw even higher percentages. The highest was on the Rust Belt due to the late 20th-century loss of manufacturing jobs. In fact, in Buffalo and Detroit, the cash sales were 71% and 68%, respectively.

In general, bargain-hunting and single-family rental investors who can buy cash have a significant advantage over traditional buyers. As a result, cities and states with growing shares of cash buyers tended to see a drop in the number of deals closed with Federal Housing Administration loans which are popular with first-time homebuyers.

Investors who put money into single-family rentals during the pandemic are now marketing to that families ruled out from the market because they need to rely on a mortgage or won’t pay cash.

(source: theraldeal.com)