The share of cash sales inched up slightly in August, reaching 31.7 percent, a 0.8 percent month-over-month change.  Despite the marginal change, cash transactions were 3.2 percentage points lower than in August 2014.  CoreLogic, in its monthly cash sales report, said cash sales share typically increases month over month in August, but the seasonality in the market means comparisons should be made primarily on a year-over-year basis.

The cash sales share peaked in January 2011 when they accounted for 46.5 percent of total home sales nationally. Prior to the housing crisis, the cash sales share of total home sales averaged approximately 25 percent. If the cash sales share continues to fall at the same rate it did in August 2015, the share should hit 25 percent by mid-2017.

Cash sales continued to predominate in transactions involving bank-owned property or REO.  Buyers used cash in 57.9 percent of those purchases.  Resales had the second highest share at 31.1 percent, followed by short sales (29 percent) and sales of newly constructed homes (15.5 percent).

The decline in the total cash sales share has paralleled the decline in sale of REO where most of those transactions have occurred.  Those properties accounted for only 6 percent of all sales in August 2015 whereas in January 2011 when cash sales were at their peak 23.9 percent of all sales were REO houses.

Alabama had the largest share of cash sales at 47.5 percent followed by Florida (45.2 percent), New York (42.4 percent), West Virginia (39.6 percent) and Missouri (39.5 percent). Among large Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) the largest share was in Miami at 51.7 percent, while Philadelphia had a 51 percent share.  The other MSAs among the top five for cash transactions were all in Florida; West Palm Beach Boca Raton, Sarasota-Bradenton, and Fort Lauderdale.  All had cash sales of more than 47 percent.