In November, all-cash sales came back after an extended decline

After a long period of steady decline, all-cash sales in Atlanta’s housing market returned with a vengeance in Nov. 2015, rising 16 percent from where they were a year ago, according to new analysis from RealtyTrac.

For November, all-cash sales comprised 44.3 percent of all Metro Atlanta sales, higher than the national average of 38.1 percent (which was in its own right the highest national level since March 2013). Daren Blomquist, the vice president at RealtyTrac, explained in the firm’s report that the new TRID regulations were a likely cause for November’s spike in all-cash sales.

“The jump in cash sales is likely a knee-jerk reaction to the new documentation and disclosure rules for mortgages that took effect in October, making it even more difficult for buyers using financing to compete with cash buyers in the already competitive housing market,” Blomquist said. “Global economic instability may also be driving more foreign cash buyers back to the relative safety of U.S. real estate.”

See our graph below for an idea of how Atlanta’s market compares with other metro areas: