New England Accounts for 82 Percent of Investor Cash Sales in 2014

Cash sales made up 32 percent of all sales, according to the April REALTORS® Confidence Index. However, for investors, cash clearly continued to provide an advantage, as 70 percent of investor purchases were made with cash.

When looking at the regional trends over the past five years, investor cash purchases have been especially targeted in the South Atlantic region, home to Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. The five-year average investor cash purchases for the South Atlantic region stood at 77 percent as of April.

Investors were also closing deals with cash in the East North Central region—Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. The region’s share of cash purchases by investors was 74 percent during the 2010-14 period. The other regions where investor cash acquisitions comprised two thirds of transactions were East South Central and Mountain, which were tied at 70 percent, for the 5-year average.

Analyzing just the 2014 data, there are a few noticeable details. New England recorded the highest share of investor cash purchases, at 82 percent. The South Atlantic came in a close second, with 79 percent of investor cash purchases. East North Central was in third place, at 75 percent.

In the Pacific region, which has been a main target of investor acquisitions, cash sales made up only 61 percent of transactions during 2014. The figure represents the lowest share of investor cash deals for the region in the past five years.

Note: The states in each region are detailed below.
New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT), Middle Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA), East North Central (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI), West North Central (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD), South Atlantic (FL, GA, NC, SC, VA, WV), East South Central (AL, KY, MS, TN), West South Central (AR, LA, OK, TX), Mountain (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NM, NV, UT, WY), Pacific (AK, CA, HI, OR, WA).