ShareCash sales appear to be on the downtrend, according to the March 2015 REALTORS® Confidence Index Survey. Cash sales accounted for 24 percent of total existing home sales in March 2015 and have been hovering at this mid 20’s compared to about 30 percent in 2013.
The decline in cash sales is related to the drop in buying activity by investors, given fewer distressed sales on the market and rising prices. Sales for investment purposes fell to 14 percent in March 2015 from about 20 percent in 2014 while distressed sales accounted for 10 percent of existing home sales.
The declining share of sales for investment purposes and cash sales indicates that long-term homeowners, rather than investors, are increasingly driving the recovery.
