Cash is king for one-third of metro Atlanta homebuyers
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More than a third of metro Atlanta homes recently sold were bought with cash, according to a recent Redfin analysis.
Why it matters: As all-cash buyers snap up houses, many aspiring homeowners feel shut out by high mortgage rates and prices, plus low inventory.
By the numbers: 36.4% of Atlanta-area homes were bought with cash last year, which is higher than the national average of 29.2%.
- The lowest dip in all-cash buyers — 22.4% — occurred in mid-2020 during the pandemic.
- The trend spiked in late 2021 when 52.4% of homes were purchased with cash.
Context: Atlanta has been inundated with large-scale institutional investors who are able to move swiftly to purchase homes, often putting down cash offers to edge out traditional buyers, Thomas previously reported.
- They then rent out those houses.
- These investors have benefited from the metro Atlanta's high demand for housing and lack of local regulations, experts previously said.
Yes, and: Individual buyers paying cash are often selling their current homes.
- Nearly a third (31%) of repeat homebuyers paid cash and didn't finance their homes, National Association of Realtors research shows.
The bottom line: Good luck beating an all-cash offer in a bidding war.
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