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Investors buying fewer homes in Clark County

The Columbian
Published: November 7, 2014, 12:00am

Home sales to institutional investors in Clark County have declined significantly from a year ago, according to the most recent report from the housing research firm RealtyTrac.

Just 0.8 percent of single-family homes and condos in the county were to institutional investors in this year’s third quarter, down from 3.9 percent in the same quarter one year ago. Statewide, 2.8 percent of homes were purchased by investors, with Oregon data showing 2.2 percent of sales to investors. Nationally, investors — those purchasing at least 10 properties in a calendar year — accounted for 4.3 perent of all home sales.

All-cash sales of single-family homes and condos accounted for 20.4 percent of Clark County’s sales during the year’s third quarter, down from 22.6 percent a year ago, RealtyTrac reported. Those sales were lower than Washington’s 23.7 percent and Oregon’s 26.9 percent. For the nation as a whole, 33.9 percent of sales were cash only.

Investors gravitate toward markets with a high inventory of low-cost housing, and cash buyers are often bargain hunters or looking for homes in competitive markets where cash offers an advantage, said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. With both on the decline, “more traditional buyers — including first-time homebuyers and move-up buyers — will need to increasingly fill in the missing puzzle pieces to maintain the momentum of the housing recovery,” Blomquist said in a news release.

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