34 Percent?

*** Video Transcript ***

Hi Friends. If you're looking to buy a home in Jefferson County, Washington, I'd like for you to remember this number: 34%

We often hear that "most" real estate transactions in Jefferson County are cash transactions. We hear that's it's nearly impossible for buyers who are getting a mortgage to compete with all the "people moving up here from California paying cash for houses."

So what percentage of people are paying cash for houses? You guessed it. 34%.

In 2020, according to the Northwest MLS, there were 610 residential sales in Jefferson County.

Also in 2020, there were 402 financed purchase transactions. That means 34.1% of residential sales (including condos) were cash sales.

• That figure of 610 sales doesn't include "off market" sales. And we finance a fair amount of those. Usually it's a sale between two family members, a landlord selling to a tenant, or friends & neighbors selling to friends & neighbors. Those types of transactions are usually not recorded by the Northwest MLS.
• Off market transactions will be included in the 402 financed purchase transactions number. That number is determined the number of deeds of trust recorded with the county.
• These numbers also do not include sales of land.

How does that compare to the rest of the country?

According to the National Association of REALTORs, cash sales accounted for 23% of all sales nationally in March, 2021, up from 19% in March 2020.

We're a little higher than the national average, but not by much. So the next time you hear someone say, "you're going to have a tough time competing with all those cash offers," you can tell them to suck it - in a nice way. Because 66% of home buyers in Jefferson County are getting mortgages!

My name is Emily Caryl Ingram. I'm a Mortgage Loan Specialist for New American Funding in Port Townsend, Washington. Thanks for watching.