• Seven of the top 10 metros for share of cash purchases were in Florida as of the end of the first quarter of 2015. Six of the 10 metros with the smallest share of cash buyers are in California.
• Miami has the largest share of cash buyers, with 59 percent of purchases made with cash. Denver has the lowest share of cash purchases, at 21 percent.

In Florida, cash is king. In California, not so much.

At the end of the first quarter, seven of the top 10 metros with the highest share of home purchases made in cash were in Florida, up from six at the end of 2014. On the other side of the country, six of the top 10 metros for the lowest share of cash purchases were in California (figure 1).

In general, cash purchases are more common in markets east of the Mississippi River and less common in the Western United States (figure 2). All 10 of the metros with the highest share of cash buyers are east of the Mississippi. Among the 10 metros with the smallest share of cash purchases, Charleston, SC, is the only Eastern market on the list.

Homes in many Eastern markets are generally less expensive than in their western counterparts, which can be conducive to more cash purchases. Cash purchases are also more likely to be made by investors and institutional buyers looking to buy many, less-expensive homes all at once to convert into rental housing and/or flip as the market improves. This could help explain the popularity of cash purchases in aging, rust-belt markets like Cleveland, Detroit, Scranton and Dayton, where homes are cheaper, the foreclosure crisis hit harder and rental demand may be higher among displaced families.

Additionally, in many Eastern states, a judicial foreclosure process can lengthen the foreclosure timeline, keeping cash purchases elevated for a longer period as investors purchase discounted homes from lenders once they clear foreclosure.

Typically, home purchases involve finding an on-budget home, getting a mortgage and sealing the deal. But purchasing a home with cash has certain advantages over purchasing with a mortgage. In markets where competition is fierce, a cash offer can often be much more appealing to a seller because it considerably expedites and simplifies the process.