By DON FENLEY

GRAY, Tenn. – Cash deals get outsized attention from real estate professionals and the public although they account for only about one-in-three existing home sales.  Last month they accounted for 34% of August’s sales but not because there were more of them. The share increased because the number of total sales declined.

Cash sales have ranged from 262 to 265 for the last three months. The only month they were higher was April when the count rose to 280, according to the Northeast Tennessee Association of Realtors (NETAR) weekly Market Pulse.

Combined with conventional loans, cash deals account for a little over 80% of all existing home sales.

A noteworthy sales aspect is also the type of loans where sellers got over-list deals or discounted their price.

There were a little over 300 sales in the core NETAR service area last month where sellers came off their asking price. The median discount was $11,900.

At the same time, there were a little over 200 sales that were above the seller’s list price. The median amount over the list price was $9,850.

THDA loans accounted for 0.4% of the last month’s sales, but they had the highest above-list average of any other loan type ($9,922).

USDA loans had the second highest share of above list deals, and the overage was $2,690 per sale.

Buyers who financed with FHA loans accounted for 8.1% of all sales and averaged $347 above the list price.

The highest average discount from the listing price ($4,900) was from cash buyers. Those who used conventional loans had the second higher discount from the listing price ($4,475).

VA loans accounted for 7.6% of all sales and had the third highest discount from the list price ($3,378).

August’s typical list price was $286,070 – the highest so far this year. List prices have increased every month since the first of the year.

Categories: REAL ESTATE