cash sales corelogic 20140910.jpg
(CoreLogic)
Nearly half of the homes sold in Alabama in June were paid for entirely in cash, according to real estate research firm CoreLogic.
Only Florida (50.9 percent) had a higher share of cash sales than Alabama (48.1 percent). New York, Kentucky, and Nevada followed Alabama in the top five of the list.
Nationally, cash sales became popular following the financial crisis. At the start of 2011, 46.2 percent of all home sales nationwide were paid for exclusively with cash. But as the economy has recovered, the share of cash sales has declined. Just 33 percent of all sales were paid for in cash last month, the lowest share since the crisis began.
Cash sales may be especially popular in states like Florida and Nevada because those places were hit particularly hard by the foreclosure crisis. But that explanation may not work for Alabama, where foreclosures were not as serious an issue.
Instead, the low cost of real estate might be driving Alabama's cash sales. Rents in Alabama are about 33 percent lower than the national average, according to a report published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Another factor could be purchases of second homes, suggests Grayson Glaze, executive director of the Alabama Center for Real Estate.
"The vacation home market continues to gradually improve with sales seasonally peaking in June and Alabama has an above average share of these investment opportunities that attract cash buyers," Glaze said.