Who’s buying homes? Cash buyers…

Fewer first time homebuyers

While the number of home sales is ticking upward, the momentum is not coming from first-time homebuyers reports The Seattle Times. The number of buyers in the ‘first-ever’ category fell to 29% in January - the lowest percentage in nearly two years.

Cash buyers, on the other hand, have doubled to now account for one-third of all sales. What are they buying? Those bargain-priced-foreclosed-homes.

Gee, do you think investors believe homes in the right locations might just be a good bet for future growth?

Think the Puget Sound is a ‘right’ location?

Amazon on the move

Well… Also reported is the news that Amazon.com plans to lease floors 4 through 19 of the mostly empty 1918 Eighth Avenue Denny Triangle tower completed in late 2009. Those 15 floors contain about 300,000 square feet of space. And, those-in-the-know expect Amazon to lease even more floors.

People who work here need homes to live in and good schools for their children. Good schools we have, but the Puget Sound has a very real limit on buildable land. Which means that existing properties will most likely be appreciating in value as we proceed through and past this recession.

Which is why investors know this is an unusual and limited opportunity.