The Wall Street Journal reported cash buyers are grabbing up real estate deals and “breathing life into some of the nation’s most battered housing markets.” The jump in cash purchases is also a sign of revival for the economy.
According to NAR, 28% of sales in 2010 were all-cash transactions. When NAR began tracking cash transactions in October 2008, it was 14%.
It isn’t clear if housing prices have bottomed, but current bargains are luring buyers into the market. And those with cash can often pay 10-15% less than the asking price since deals are more likely to close quickly and carry less risk of buyers losing a job or banks backing out of a mortgage.
