All-Cash Share of U.S. Home Purchases in May Drops to Lowest Level Since November 2009 With Institutional Investor Purchases at 15-Year Low and Distressed Sales Drying Up

IRVINE, CA--(Marketwired - July 02, 2015) - RealtyTrac^® (www.realtytrac.com), the nation's leading source for comprehensive housing data, today released its May 2015 U.S. Home & Foreclosure Sales Report, which shows 24.6 percent of all single family home and condo sales in May were all-cash purchases, down from 28.5 percent in the previous month and down from 30.4 percent a year ago to the lowest level since November 2009.

The cash sales share in May was close to its long-term average going back to January 2000 of 24.8 percent and well below its recent peak of 42.2 percent in February 2011. The share of institutional investors -- entities purchasing at least 10 properties in a calendar year -- dropped to 2.4 percent of single family home sales in May, a record low going back to January 2000, the earliest month with data available.

"For the potential first time homebuyer or move up buyer this is a good time to move ahead," said Craig King, COO at Chase International brokerage, covering the Lake Tahoe and Reno, Nevada, markets. "Interest rates remain historically low, and the outlook for price appreciation is great. The competition in the market place is also different. While inventory is tight many investors have dropped out of the market and cash deals are not as prevalent as they were. Even in multi-offer situations much has been equalized. This is great news for first time buyers."

The median sales price of residential properties -- including both distressed and non-distressed properties -- that sold in May was $173,900, up 4 percent from the previous month but down 1 percent from a year ago. May was the second consecutive month where median sales prices nationwide were down on a year-over-year basis following 36 consecutive months of year-over-year increases.

"Distressed sales in May represented a significantly smaller share of a growing home sales pie as an increasing number of non-distressed sellers continued to cash out on the equity they've gained over the last three years of rising home prices," said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. "But those distressed sales are still acting as a drag on home prices, selling at a median price that is 43 percent below the median price of a non-distressed sale -- the biggest gap we've seen since we began tracking that distressed discount in January 2006.