Over the weekend and into the week, every buyer I spoke to was shopping with all cash. It is so time consuming and difficult to get a mortgage that buyers are out and they are looking to make good deals even better by offering all cash.
Many of the older high rises in Aventura, like the Coronado, are attracting cash buyers because the banks, especially Bank of America, are adverse to lending in buildings that don’t have large cash reserves and depend on assessments to pay for repairs and improvements.
As a result, sellers are accepting lower prices with the advantage of not having to risk a long wait for buyer’s to get mortgages.
Many people are ready to buy. Many do not have all cash to pay. The fear in the banking sector is palpable. Whereas, before the banks made loans to anyone, anywhere, anytime, today they are afraid to make any loans at all.
If we are to see the housing market really improve, this problem must be solved.