Miami-Dade is king of cash sales for October

Although cash sales in Miami-Dade County have been steadily declining, the region still saw a higher share of those deals than any other U.S. city during October.

Out of all the homes sold in the county that month, 51.6 percent were paid for in cash. That’s 17.7 percentage points above the national average, and 0.7 percent higher than the next-biggest hot spot for cash deals — Palm Beach County, according to a new report from CoreLogic.

Despite its high ranking compared to the rest of the nation, Miami-Dade’s share of cash sales has gradually dropped throughout 2015. October saw 5.5 percentage points fewer deals when stacked up against the same month in 2014.

However, in the short term, cash deals have grown slightly. October’s cash sales rate was 0.8 percentage points higher than September’s.

Besides Miami-Dade and Palm Beach County, the country’s biggest regions for cash sales were Detroit with a flat 50 percent, Broward County with 49 percent and Philadelphia with 48.9 percent.

Analysts have pointed to declining distressed properties as one reason why fewer cash deals are taking place in Miami. That, coupled with a strong U.S. dollar discouraging foreign buyers who typically pay cash, has caused a steady drop in no-financing deals within Miami-Dade.

On top of those factors, federal officials recently rolled out plans to start monitoring all-cash buyers of $1 million-and-up residential purchases throughout Miami-Dade County and Manhattan. The policy is aimed at cutting down money launderers using high-priced properties to hide their dough, though chunks of the luxe real estate community have argued that it will scare off legitimate buyers. — Sean Stewart-Muniz