But it's not just Nevada. All-cash deals in Florida comprised 57% of home sales during the month; in the state of New York, it was 51%, and in Vermont, a whopping 80%.
In markets like these, lingering foreclosures and depressed home prices are attracting private equity firms and other investors looking to buy before home prices go much higher, RealtyTrac said.
In other markets, where there are fewer distressed properties, the all-cash deals are a lot less prevalent. Nationwide, cash deals comprised 30% of home sales in June, down from 31% a year earlier, RealtyTrac reported. But in states like Texas, Utah and New Mexico, such deals were practically non-existent.
Related: Buy or rent? 10 major cities
"The U.S. housing market is slowly but surely moving toward a more normalized and sustainable pattern after a flurry of institutional and cash buyers flocked to residential real estate last year, pushing up prices and picking clean the best inventory available in many areas," said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac.
The biggest metropolitan hotspot for investors right now is Atlanta, where all-cash deals represented 42% of sales in June and investors represented 27% of buyers, the highest ratio in the country. Atlanta is still struggling with one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country, making it a prime target for investors.
Hit hard by foreclosures when the housing bubble burst, Phoenix was one of the first places investors flocked to. A year ago, 25% of all homes sold went to deep-pocketed investors. In June, that percentage dropped to 13% as most of the low-priced, prime properties had already been sold.
Related: 10 big, booming cities
"Prices in Phoenix are just too high now," said Tanya Marchiol, founder of Team Investments, a real estate investment firm based in the area. "Last year, I could buy a foreclosure, needing just new carpeting and a paint job, for $80,000, put $5,000 into it, and flip it for $120,000."
Comments(0)