Cash buys on the rise in us

With little credit available in the tight mortgage markets, US vacation and investment home buyers are increasingly turning to cash buys as a way around securing finance, says the National Association of Realtors.

Sales in both categories of property transactions fell year on year in 2010 according to the NAR's figures, but cash buys as a percentage of all sales were up significantly. Whilst 40% of vacation homes in the US were bought solely in cash, 60% of all investment homes were cash buys.

For those who did secure a mortgage, the average down payments required grew larger as lenders and agents sought to avoid defaulting and foreclosure. An average 30% deposit was laid down by vacation home buyers with mortgages, while for investment buyers it was 32%.