Cities With the Highest Number of Cash Sales

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The share of cash sales is falling nationwide, but there are many housing markets where they still dominate. Cash transactions made up 27.8 percent of single-family home and condo sales in 2018, down from a peak of 38.4 percent in 2011, according to real estate research firm ATTOM Data Solutions. But cash sales are still higher than historical norms: They averaged only 18.7 percent of all sales in the prerecession years between 2000 and 2007. The top 20 metros (with populations greater than 200,000) for cash transactions saw double-digit year-over-year increases in 2018. Some of those areas are:

1. Manchester-Nashua, N.H.: 89 percent
2. Cedar Rapids, Iowa: 47 percent
3. Duluth, Minn.-Wis.: 39 percent
4. Lake Havasu City-Kingman, Ariz.: 36 percent
5. Lexington-Fayette, Ky.: 35 percent
6. Des Moines-West Des Moines, Iowa: 33 percent
7. Claremont-Lebanon, N.H.-Vt.: 29 percent
8. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz.: 25 percent
9. Utica-Rome, N.Y.: 24 percent
10. Boulder, Colo.: 18 percent
11. Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C.: 16 percent
12. Reno, Nev.: 16 percent
13. Providence-Warwick, R.I.-Mass.: 16 percent
14. Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, N.C.-S.C.: 15 percent