Florida home buyers are flush with cash these days.
The state again led the nation last month for the share of cash purchases of single-family homes and condominiums, this time with the top nine U.S. metro areas for no-loan deals all in Florida.
Charlotte County ranked sixth and the Sarasota-Manatee region finished ninth nationally for the percentage of home sales closed with cash in July, real estate researcher RealtyTrac reported Wednesday.
Yet the percentage of cash deals is actually down over the year in Southwest Florida, perhaps reflecting a market moving from investor-driven to traditional home buyers.
Buyers paid cash for 47 percent of the residential sales in Sarasota-Manatee last month, which was down from 50 percent one year earlier.
In Charlotte, cash buyers accounted for nearly 49 percent of home and condo sales, off from 61 percent last year.
Statewide, home buyers plunked down cash in nearly 43 percent of deals, compared with 48 percent in 2014.
Nationally, home sales with cash fell to an eight-year low of 22.6 percent, RealtyTrac reported.
“We continue to see a decline in inventory in homes under $300,000, but above that price point we are beginning to see inventory rise,” said Mike Pappas, a South Florida real estate agent who follows the RealtyTrac data. “We have finally moved into a real market with real buyers and real sellers.”
The East Coast town of Sebastian led the nation, with 54.6 percent cash sales in July. Homosassa Springs, Sebring, Naples and Port St. Lucie rounded out the top five.
Nationwide, the volume of home sales through July hit their highest level since 2007, and the U.S. median sale price of $189,500 was the highest since September 2008.
That shows “a good foundation for sustainable growth going forward,” said RealtyTrac vice president Daren Blomquist.
“That’s not to say there are no cracks in the foundation of this recovery, the top three of which are housing affordability — or lack thereof in some high-flying markets — along with overdependence on capricious cash buyers — both foreign and domestic — in some markets, and the persistent overhang of underwater homeowners who continue to represent heightened default risk given any future economic shockwaves,” he said.
Homes and condos in Sarasota-Manatee sold for an average $221,261 last month, or $4,129 below their estimated market value.
Buyers in Charlotte paid an average $179,785, or $1,419 above estimated market value.
The number of distressed home sales continues to decline throughout the region.
Sarasota-Manatee ranked 51st nationwide, with 9.9 percent of all home sales coming from properties in some stage of foreclosure, which was down from 11.2 percent for the year.
Charlotte was 138th, with foreclosure homes accounting for 5.5 percent of all sales, less than half of last year’s 12 percent.
