Uncertain Global Markets Drive Cash Sales for Luxury Properties in the U.S.

More international investors look to American real estate to protect their wealth

Across the U.S., the number of buyers paying for luxury property in cash continues to rise amid uncertainty in global markets.

New figures out yesterday from CoreLogic showed that while the overall proportion of cash sales fell to around one-third last year — the lowest level since 2008 — this masks a growing divergence between the low and top ends of the U.S. real estate market.

Sam Khater, an economist at CoreLogic, told Mansion Global that the proportion of cash sales were declining at the affordable end of the market because a lot more people were taking out mortgages amid rising confidence about the domestic economy and jobs.

In contrast, cash sales are on the increase in the luxury sector as investors see property as a safe haven for their money. Specifically, Asian investors are flooding San Francisco and Seattle; Americans are pumping money into Florida (and Miami in particular); and, as ever, investors from around the world are protecting their wealth in New York real estate.

“I would expect this trend to continue happening, although much depends on what is going on in global stock markets,” said Khater.