Cash real estate deals are starting to decline in South Florida, a potentially positive indicator of banks getting back in the residential lending game.
South Florida is still a national leader in all-cash sales. But Palm Beach County had a year-over-year decline of 11.5 percent last month, when cash deals accounted for less than 42 percent of all transactions, according to the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches. That’s the lowest percentage of cash sales in the county since September 2010.
Miami-Dade County had less than 58 percent of its second quarter residential transactions involve all-cash buyers, according to the Miami Association of Realtors. Nearly 63 percent of transactions during the second quarter of 2013 were cash deals.
“It’s a sign the investment climate is getting better,” Israel Alfonso, a partner at Akerman’s Miami-based real estate practice, told the Daily Business Review. “It’s a positive sign.” [Daily Business Review] — Eric Kalis