Maybe what Denita wrote, but in hot markets, more and more sellers are going for "cash only" deals and not losing selling time with the buyer obtaining financing, even if "pre-approved" which means very little anyway. If the market is hot enough, they can get away with this. Some even go so far as to say "no inspection clause", again, because they can.

mxk3-

What housing market is this?

It's usually specified here for properties that need rehab but our market is such that people are making cash only offers on regular properties. However we are also entering a period where there may be multiple offer, at or above asking, and all cash offers and fast closing are a way to compete with those with an under asking price offer.

Another possibility is a FIBO listing from an unsophisticated seller, you know the type who knows everything despite what others tell him. I remember my agent friends talking about trying to convince such sellers that they would indeed get 'all cash' if the buyer got a bank loan. I think this thinking came from the very high interest rate days of the early 80's when sellers were often forced to carry the loan in order to sell a house.

@kudzu: SE MI.

I read 1/3 of sales are cash anyway.

Non-existent in our market. Unless there's a vendor take back (VTB) mortgage, it's always cash to the vendor.

Here it means the buyer pays cash and won't get financing. So no financing contingencies. Seller always gets cash unless they are financing the property for the buyer which is rare. It is in the "terms considered" part of the MLS. There are buyers that offer cash and finance the property anyway. However, if the financing were to fall through the buyer would still have to close regardless.

I know what cash only means LOL! Just making a comment I've not seen listings in my area before with this stipulation. The way I look at it, having recently been a seller, if 1/3 of the market pays cash "anyway", that's 2/3 of the market I've automatically just excluded if I were to put cash only stipulation in a listing. Hey, if someone were to offer me cash I'd take it if the price was right, but I wanted to sell my house as quickly as possible - didn't want to exclude a gigantic pool of potential buyers, that's for sure.

I read 1/3 of sales are cash anyway.

Actually, the statistic is that 1/3 of houses in the US have no mortgage on them. A bit different, just indicating that many have been paid off.

Unless the vendor (seller) is taking back a mortgage, all sales are cash. The secondary meaning certainly doesn't apply to Ontario, where I was a real estate broker for 17 years.

Looking at New England properties at the moment, I am amazed at how long the listings remain as "contingent" sales. Here, the buyer would be lucky to get five days to firm up their conditions while the property is still on the market.

Actually, the statistic is that 1/3 of houses in the US have no mortgage on them. A bit different, just indicating that many have been paid off.

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It had been as high as 1/3 but it is going down a bit with the reduction of investors and distressed properties.

I was remembering an article I'd read, here it is. Of course it mentions one area not the entire country. Cash Becoming King

>>I was remembering an article I'd read, here it is. Of course
it mentions one area not the entire country. Cash Becoming King>>

Yes, we see an increasing percentage of all-cash deals up here in Northern CA as well. No appraisal necessary, no inspections, no hassle with financing as rates continue to rise.

As some of us keep reiterating on Quora.com when people ask about the high price of San Francisco real estate - prices in SF and other desirable US cities are NOT expensive by global standards, which is a big reason why people from Asia have been major buyers of US real estate for decades.

One Quoran from Singapore wrote simply, "Your US prices look cheap to us."

"Unless there's a vendor take back (VTB) mortgage, it's always cash to the vendor."

So you believe CASH ONLY means the seller is open to any type of financing EXCEPT VTB?

"Unless there's a vendor take back (VTB) mortgage, it's always cash to the vendor."

I read as: unless seller carries the mortgage, s/he will receive cash during the closing regardless where the buyer obtains finance.

Jakkom is right, to many Asian buyers, California housing price is reasonable, it is where they park their extra cash by buying multiple (such as 5 or 12...etc. ) properties. Not to mention it is almost impossible for them to get mortgage through American lenders.

I just moved from an area with large lots, minimum 1 acre, pretty large lots for Southern California, lots of Japanese go crazy over the thought of buying a large piece of land. The area is also close to the ports with lots of Japanese companies nearby.

Many higher end properties in markets that are attractive to international and global investors are cash only. (Think New York City and California; parts of south Florida) Regardless of how you feel about the USA, many non-residents invest their foreign cash in real estate in the USA. It's a way to overcome monetary restrictions in their home countries.

Also in our part of FL, lots of retirees flush with cash from their northern home sales purchase new properties for all cash.

cpartist - do long time residents get angry with the newcomers driving up pricing.

OT. I don’t understand why retired people like FL. It’s too hot, and bugs are huge, plus alligators snakes everywhere, seniors can’t run fast.......and the burning sun dries skin like a raisin.......nothing sounded right for retirement.......

"do long time residents get angry with the newcomers driving up pricing."

Why would they get mad... unless they are buying. Even thee, the home that they would be SELLING would have had its price driven up also!

Some long time residents are angry when prices escalate before they can buy, such as a young person saving to buy, suddenly their desirable hometown is out of their range.

Some people know they can't buy in the town they grew up in. I saw this with my sons and their friends.

I saw this in Mexico when many foreigners bought bargains compared to their home country, but priced out locals as they drove up the prices.

"Why would they get mad... unless they are buying. Even thee, the home that they would be SELLING would have had its price driven up also!"

Obviously this only applies if a person is selling a house. Even in my area (not a super-smokin' hot market but hot enough), so many first-time buyers are struggling to find homes, let alone what would be considered affordable homes - they can pretty much forget about that unless they buy in run-down neighborhoods. Which, let's face it, may not be the worst thing - those run-down neighborhoods can become revitalized with an infusion of new, typically younger buyers looking to put down roots. Sucky time to be a virgin homebuyer, without a doubt.

Many of those rundown neighborhoods are populated with older people who are barely able to afford the upkeep and current property taxes. It may not be the same in other places but the property taxes here are reevaluated every 5 years. The upgraded places are sometimes bought just to flip. Each time any of the houses that may have been worth $25,000 are sold especially in some of our older neighborhoods for $500K+ it raises the valuation of every property in that neighborhood. Forcing the owners to sell or have the property taken for taxes.

One developer talked our city council into allowing eminent domain for a ten block area to redevelop the property. This was a very poor area and the promise was that the developer would build homes that they could afford. The houses started at $225K and went up. No one from the old neighborhood could afford them.

These are the situations that make long time home owners angry and worried about what they would do if it happened to them. These are not isolated instances in this 6 county area.

^^ Yes, good points.