The figures from real estate company Core Logic, also show that the number of cash sales are down from 37.4% from the same month a year ago.
However, the firm pointed out that while the cash sales share also fell from the 36.9% reported in April 2014, cash sales share comparisons should be made on a year on year basis due to the seasonal nature of the housing market.
The share has fallen on a year on year basis each month since January 2013. Prior to the housing crisis, the cash sales share of total home sales averaged approximately 25% and the peak occurred in January 2011 when cash transactions made up 46.2% of total home sales.
Real estate owned (REO) sales had the largest cash sales share in May at 55.5%, followed by re-sales at 34%, short sales at 32.8% and newly constructed homes at 16.8%.
While the percentage of REO sales that were cash transactions remained high, REO transactions made up only 8.2% of total sales in May and therefore did not have a large influence on the overall cash sales share. In January 2011, when the cash sales share was at its peak, REO sales made up 24% of total sales.
Florida had the largest share of any state at 53.4%, followed by New York at 50.3%, Alabama at 48.9%, West Virginia at 48.3% and South Dakota at 46.3%.
Of the nation’s largest 100 Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) measured by population, Nassau County-Suffolk County, New York, had the highest share of cash sales at 66.4% followed by Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida, at 64%, West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Delray Beach, Florida, at 62.8%, North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida, at 62.7% and Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Michigan, at 61.1%.
