RealtyTrac, a source for comprehensive housing data, released its Q1 2015 Cash, Investor & Distressed Sales Report, showing owner-occupant buyers accounted for 63.2 percent of all residential single family home and condo sales in the first quarter of 2015. This is down from 65.8 percent in the previous quarter and 68.6 percent a year ago — the lowest quarterly level going back to the first quarter of 2011, the earliest quarter with data available.
Meanwhile non owner-occupant buyers — any buyer who purchased a property but has their property tax bill mailed somewhere else — reached a new high of 36.8 percent in the first quarter of 2015, the highest level since the first quarter of 2011. In the universe of non-owner-occupied purchases, 44.7 percent were to all cash buyers, down from 61 percent a year ago to the lowest quarterly level since the first quarter of 2011.
A total of 14,621 single family homes were sold to institutional investors — entities that purchase at least 10 properties in a calendar year — in the first quarter of 2015, 3.4 percent of all sales and down from 6.2 percent a year ago, the lowest share in four years.
“The first quarter sales data broken down by owner-occupancy status suggest two important trends in the housing market: First, investor activity continues to represent a disproportionately high share of all home sales activity in this housing recovery, but unlike the past three years the large institutional investors are backing out while the smaller, mid-tier and mom-and-pop investors are remaining active,” RealtyTrac Vice President Daren Blomquist said. “The second trend is that a growing number of investors are not buying all-cash, but instead are taking advantage of the broader set of financing options now available to them thanks to a new crop of nationwide companies that have emerged offering financing specifically for investment properties.”
Among metros with a population of at least 500,000 and with sufficient housing data, the top metros for overall investor purchases were in Cape Coral, Fla. (60.4 percent); Detroit (59.3 percent); Sarasota, Fla. (59 percent); Lakeland, Fla. (50.8 percent); and Columbus, Ohio (50.5 percent).
The report also found that the U.S. median home price in March increased 8 percent from a year ago but was down 3 percent from the previous month to $175,000. The median sales price of distressed homes — those in the foreclosure process or bank-owned — increased 7 percent from a year ago to $120,000, 37 percent below the median sales price of non-distressed properties, $190,000.
Distressed sales fall
In the first quarter, 7.3 percent of homes sold were in-foreclosure, where the sale of a property occurred while the property is actively in default or scheduled for foreclosure auction, down from 8.6 percent a year ago. REO (Real Estate Owned) sales, where a sale of the property occurs while the property is actively bank owned, accounted for 7.2 percent of sales, down from 12.9 percent a year ago.
The Chicago metro area led the nation for share of homes sold while in the foreclosure process at 15.7 percent followed by Las Vegas (13.7 percent); Jacksonville, Fla. (12.4 percent); Milwaukee (12.3 percent); and Toledo, Ohio (12.3 percent).
Florida metros led the nation for REO sales led by Palm Bay (15.3 percent), Orlando (15.3 percent), Jacksonville (14.1 percent) and Tampa (13.2 percent).
All-cash purchases reach four-year low
All-cash buyers accounted for 25.9 percent of all single family home and condo sales in the first quarter of 2015, down from 30.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014 — a four-year low.
Among metropolitan statistical areas with a population of at least 500,000, Miami had the highest share of all-cash sales in the first quarter of 2015 — 51.5 percent — followed by Sarasota, Fla. (50.8 percent); Cape Coral, Fla. (50.5 percent); Tampa, Fla. (43.2 percent); and Lakeland, Fla. (43.0 percent).
Metro areas with highest share of institutional investors
Among metropolitan statistical areas with a population of at least 500,000, Memphis, Tenn., posted the highest share of institutional investor purchases of single family homes in the first quarter of 2015 — 14.1 percent — followed by Charlotte, N.C. (12.1 percent); Atlanta (9.6 percent); Jacksonville, Fla. (8.5 percent); and Oklahoma City (7.6 percent).