MRIS (Metropolitan Regional Information System), the multiple listing service for the Washington, DC area has issued its statistics for July.  Of the 1130 homes in Montgomery County, MD that settled in July, half (565)of them were financed with conventional loans.  That says a lot about the market.  It means that many people have money to make larger downpayments and are able to qualify in today's tougher mortgage market.

The financing alternative for folks with less money for a downpayment and/or lower credit scores is the FHA loan.  Thirty-two percent (359 buyers) used FHA, which requires as little as 3.5% of the sales price as a downpayment.  Three percent or 36 people used the no downpayment VA loan.

The more surprising number is the number of people buying property and paying all cash.  Ten percent of the July buyers did that.  I think that many of those buyers were buying the many foreclosures that are on the market and needing cash buyers because of their sorry condition. 

Another surprise is that 4% or 43 buyers assumed loans.  We haven't seen many assumptions in years.

Inventory is down, as are sales prices, but volume is up.  Welll priced houses in good condition are seeing multiple offers again, so days on market (DOM) is also decreasing.