Cash Buyers are Dominating the Real Estate Market

"Almost 40 percent of all U.S. home sales in the second quarter of 2014 were all-cash purchases, according to the latest report from RealtyTrac.com. Just about 5 percent of home sales were purchased by institutional buyers—companies or entities that bought more than 10 properties over the course of a year. Both of these figures are down from the last quarter, and down still more so from 2012, when housing prices hit their nadir," reports Kriston Capps.

Some states are seeing more all-cash purchases than others: "For a handful of states, nearly half the home sales in Q2 were all-cash buys: Florida led the way (57.9 percent), followed by Michigan (49.7), New York (48.8), and Nevada (48.3). In Virginia, the state with one of the lowest figures, all-cash purchases still accounted for more than one-fifth of home sales (22.2 percent)."

The article includes a lot more data about the types of houses being bought with cash around the country.