Cash sales account for more than 1-in-3 Tri-Cities home sales

The percentage of Tri-Cities cash sales were down during the first three months of this year and the sales of FHA sales were up. At the same time institutional investors have all but abandoned the local market, according to ATTOM Data Solution’s Q1 Home Sales Report.

The caveat to the decline of cash sales is the total number of sales were up, so there’s some statistical balance at play.

Q1 cash sales in the Johnson City Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) accounted for 35.1% of all sales compared to 38.3% last year. In the Kingsport-Bristol MSA, the share was 32.8% compared to 35.5% last year.  All-cash sales accounted for 26.6% of sales.

FHA sales accounted for 10.5% of Johnson City sales, up from 7.3% last year, and 10.9% in Kingsport-Bristol, up from 10.1% last year. The local FHA shares are not close to the 11% national average.

Institutional investor sales made up 2.2% of US sales during the quarter. There were not enough locally to register.