How common all-cash home sales are in the Richmond area

Low inventory and bidding wars aren't the only things making it harder to buy a house in the post-pandemic Richmond market.

What's happening: Just over a quarter of all home buys in the Richmond area were with cash last year, compared to 18.6% in 2019.

• Of those, investors made up 8.8% of Richmond-area cash sales in 2022, (compared with 7% in 2019,) while cash-paying individuals accounted for 16.5%, according to ATTOM, a real estate data firm.

Why it matters: Cash-rich buyers scooped up homes across the country during the pandemic, sidelining many first-timers.

• That trend has continued into 2023, according to Redfin.

Zoom in: In metro Richmond, area code 23225 (Woodland Heights to Stratford Hills) saw some of the biggest share of cash sales — 44% last year, according to the Post using Redfin data.

• Followed by 42% in Hanover County's 23069.

The big picture: One in three U.S. homes sold in 2022 were bought in cash, per ATTOM.

• Nearly 10% of those were sold to investors, while a quarter went to families and individuals.

Threat level: "Wall Street has come for the starter home," the New York Times reports.