All-cash offers make Charlotte’s residential real estate out of reach for many

Why it matters: The data show that investors saw real estate as a safe place to grow wealth following economic downturns, says Tiffany Johannes, president of Canopy MLS.

• While the share of residential cash deals has declined in recent years, it’s still far greater today than it was pre-2008.

Zoom out: Making an all-cash offer can give a leg up to prospective buyers like corporate investors, who’ve been scooping up more homes around Charlotte in recent years.

• Their holdings are concentrated among lower-priced houses around the region.
• This can make purchasing a home even harder for prospective buyers in a region where the housing market is already historically low.

By the numbers: In the years before the housing crisis, the portion of residential cash deals hovered around 8%. By 2013, however, cash deals surged to 28.9%. They steadily declined for years after, then surged again amid the pandemic, reaching 25.2% in 2021.

• In 2023, cash deals comprise an average of 18.7% of all real estate deals in Charlotte, the data show.

What’s happening: In recent years, there’s been an influx of both corporate investors and high-net-worth individuals moving to Charlotte — a market that’s relatively affordable compared to places like New York and California — and paying in cash.

• “We see a good bit of those individuals — as well as corporate (investors) – from 2011 to present … coming down here from up North, and they could afford to pay cash,” Johannes says.