| BloombergThe share of all-cash deals rose to the highest since 2013 last year, while institutional investors, who usually account for many cash sales, retreated, according to data from real estate data analytics firm Attom. That suggests more regular buyers turned to self-funding to dodge punishing mortgage rates.
“It’s mostly people retiring, or people who have sold something in other parts of the country and made a lot of money off of it and are able to pick up something here for cash,” said Heather Kruayai, a Redfin Corp. Realtor in Jacksonville, Florida, where the median home price is less than half that of California.Besides high mortgage rates, two major factors at play today help explain the jump in cash sales.
“They’re able to participate in a cash game that normally they would not have been able to,” she said. Home to a military base, universities and power plants, Augusta is a big market for rentals and has attracted investors hoping to profit from that demand, said Clay Turner, a broker and Realtor in the area.
“We don’t see hedge funds purchasing anymore,” said Shay Stein, a real estate agent for Redfin in the area. “I think a lot of investors, they’re wondering what the market is going to do.”
'Private equity' is paying cash.