When it comes to Maine’s housing market, cash is king in more than a third of purchases, according to state rankings released Tuesday.
The report, by a national mortgage lender based in California, ranks Maine among the top 10 states for all-cash purchases, which accounted for 33.5% of the state’s home sales in 2024.
Maine is No. 9 on the national leaderboard.
Nationwide, cash sales made up about 27% of home purchases in 2024, according to an analysis by New American Funding, a Tustin, Calif.-based mortgage lender whose 275,000 customers represent $71 million in value and 276 locations.
West Virginia leads the top 10, with cash deals accounting for 41.1% in home purchases, followed by New York at No. 2 and Delaware at No. 3.
Residential brokers in Maine told Mainebiz that the findings are in line with what they’re seeing on the ground.
“I would agree that we see about a third of purchases are cash,” said Dava Davin, owner and CEO of Portside Real Estate Group.
“This is because we have been in a competitive market fueled in some parts of Maine by second home purchases and in others by creative financing,” she said. “In many cases, today’s cash buyers are refinancing after closing or getting help from the Bank of Mom and Dad.”
Yulia Glasgow, an associate broker with Maine Real Estate Co. in Scarborough, said that 23% of her transactions in 2024 were all-cash and that the trend is holding steady this year.
Glasgow’s advice to would-be buyers in today’s competitive market: “There are many factors that contribute to a winning offer. While cash alone isn’t always enough, it can eliminate uncertainties and significantly speed up the buying process.”