Most people use a mortgage to buy a home. But try telling that to real estate agents, brokers and investors in the hot markets from Racine, Wisconsin and Greenville, South Carolina to Kahului, Hawaii and Bellingham, Washington. Some of these smaller cities are unexpected, which shows that it’s not just happening in global metros like New York and Miami, with their luxury profiles and international buyers.
According to Realtor.com, all these metro areas and many more (including El Paso Texas and Clarksville, Tennessee) have seen a big jump in all-cash deals. The word “mortgage” can seem like something from a lost language, now substituted with phrases like “bidding war” and “above asking.”
Cash sales have shot up 18 percent in Racine, 14 percent in Greenville, 11 percent in Kahului and nine percent in Bellingham. In this four-city sampling, total cash sales in early 2021 stood at 33 to 40 percent – a big chunk.
“If you have to compete with other potential buyers, an all-cash offer puts you in a more competitive spot,” explains Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com. It “can make you a more attractive buyer.”
West Palm Beach leads the nation in all-cash home buying deals, with a stunning 52.6 percent.
Sellers want to close fast, with no hiccups, which is why savvy investors who lack the funds immediately bypass the mortgage route and opt instead for private lenders like the Boca Raton-based LightSpeed Lending, which can help you close a deal in seven to ten days. LightSpeed Lending puts you in the driver’s seat, giving you the cachet of an all-cash buyer. That’s the power of the private lender experience: speed, convenience and appeal to sellers.