That's rich: Rise in all-cash transactions helping drive price gains for most expensive US homes
Well-heeled home shoppers are increasingly paying cash, helping turbo-charge price gains for the most expensive U.S. homes
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Well-heeled home shoppers are increasingly paying cash, helping turbo-charge price gains for the most expensive U.S. homes.
The median sale price of luxury homes, or those valued in the top 5% of the market nationally, hit an all-time high $1.23 million in the first quarter, an increase of 8.7% from the same period last year, according to an analysis by Redfin.
By comparison, the median sale price of non-luxury homes, or those in the middle-third of the market based on their estimated value, rose 4.6% from a year ago to $345,000, according to the report. Redfin didn't factor in price trends for homes with an estimated value in the bottom third of the market.
Rising mortgage rates have discouraged many would-be homebuyers and kept the U.S. housing market mired in a slump for most of the past couple of years.
