In December of 2014, cash sales comprised 35.5% of all home sales, down from 38.5% in December of 2013, and marking the 24th consecutive year-over-year monthly declines. Cash sales also declined compared with the November total of 36.1% of all home sales.

Cash home sales reached a peak in January of 2011 when 46.5% of all home sales in the United States were sold for cash. That peak was nearly double the pre-housing crisis average of around 25%. At the current rate of decline in monthly cash sales, that average should be reached in mid-2017.

The five states where cash sales were highest in December were Alabama (52.2%), Florida (50.3%), New York (45.9%), Michigan (44.6%) and Idaho (42.9%). Sales include new construction, resales, real-estate owned (REO) and short sales, and the data were reported Monday by CoreLogic.

Cash sales for REO properties accounted for 58.4% of all cash sales, while cash sales for resales and short sales accounted for about 35.4% and 32.7%, respectively. All-cash sales of new homes came in at 15.6% of all new home sales.

As a percentage of all sales, REOs accounted for 8.8% of total December real estate sales. In January 2011, REO sales accounted for nearly 24% of all sales.

Of the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas, the five Core-Based Statistical Areas with the greatest percentage of cash sales are:

• Detroit-Dearborn-Livonia, Mich., 65.9%
• Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Fla., 58.3%
• West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Delray Beach, Fla., 57.2%
• Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, Fla., 56.3%
• Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., 55.6%

The metro area with the lowest percentage of cash sales was Syracuse, N.Y., at 15%.

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