The proportion of all-cash home sales has doubled since May, making up 42 percent of all deals done in November, RealtyTrac reports — the largest proportion of cash sales since the data aggregator began tracking the stat nearly three years ago.

RealtyTrac had previously reported that cash deals made up 45 percent of sales registered in August, but the firm has since revised that tally down, citing a revision it made to methodology.

Source: RealtyTrac

Source: RealtyTrac

Regardless, the data — and the raw numbers behind it — does not indicate a greater raw number of investors, RealtyTrac Vice President Daren Blomquist told Inman News. What it shows is that rising home prices and rising mortgage rates have diminished the pool of buyers using a loan to buy a home.

The number of homes purchased with a mortgage fell 40 percent from October to November, to 135,154 — the lowest monthly total of financed home sales in the three years RealtyTrac’s been keeping the data. The raw number of all-cash deals in November was also down 31.2 percent from October, to 98,030.

The number of homes purchased with a loan has dropped steadily each month since May, when rates began to ratchet up. Mortgaged home sales totaled 360,227 in May, shrinking in June (338,650), July (317,002), August (288,094), September (250,026), October (225,076) and November (135,154).

Yesterday, the National Association of Realtors reported that all-cash deals made up 32 percent of existing-home sales, up from 31 percent in October. However, that number is likely not as accurate as it could be because of methodology issues that are being addressed, NAR spokesman Walt Maloney told Inman News in August.

RealtyTrac’s tally show a much lower percentage of cash deals than a Goldman Sachs Group report earlier this year that showed more than half of all the transactions in the 18 months between January 2012 and June 2013 were completed with nothing but cash.

The RealtyTrac report also revealed that institutional investors snatched up 7.7 percent of all the residential homes sold in November.

The methodology change that led to the revision of RealtyTrac’s previously reported all-cash sales data produces a more accurate portrayal of what’s actually happening on the ground with such deals, Blomquist told Inman News.

The firm calculates the percentage of all-cash deals in a month by comparing the records of home sales from deeds filed at county courts throughout the U.S. to loan data it has in the same areas. After discovering that it actually did not have loan data in a few locations where it mistakenly thought it had the data, RealtyTrac revised the methodology, Blomquist said.

For example, in addition to August’s downward revision, in October, RealtyTrac had all-cash deals making up 49 percent of September’s transaction total, which now stands at 37 percent.

Show Comments Hide Comments
Sign up for Inman’s Morning Headlines
What you need to know to start your day with all the latest industry developments
By submitting your email address, you agree to receive marketing emails from Inman.
Success!
Thank you for subscribing to Morning Headlines.
Back to top
Only 3 days left to register for Inman Connect Las Vegas before prices go up! Don't miss the premier event for real estate pros.Register Now ×
Limited Time Offer: Get 1 year of Inman Select for $199SUBSCRIBE×
Log in
If you created your account with Google or Facebook
Don't have an account?
Forgot your password?
No Problem

Simply enter the email address you used to create your account and click "Reset Password". You will receive additional instructions via email.

Forgot your username? If so please contact customer support at (510) 658-9252

Password Reset Confirmation

Password Reset Instructions have been sent to

Subscribe to The Weekender
Get the week's leading headlines delivered straight to your inbox.
Top headlines from around the real estate industry. Breaking news as it happens.
15 stories covering tech, special reports, video and opinion.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
It looks like you’re already a Select Member!
To subscribe to exclusive newsletters, visit your email preferences in the account settings.
Up-to-the-minute news and interviews in your inbox, ticket discounts for Inman events and more
1-Step CheckoutPay with a credit card
By continuing, you agree to Inman’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

You will be charged . Your subscription will automatically renew for on . For more details on our payment terms and how to cancel, click here.

Interested in a group subscription?
Finish setting up your subscription
×