Cash buyers splash $138b in affluent suburbs and flood-affected regions

Cash buyers spent $138 billion on residential property across NSW, Victoria and Queensland in FY24, with affluent inner-city areas and coastal locations dominating purchases, new PEXA data has revealed.

Sydney’s CBD recorded the highest value of cash purchases at $1.7 billion across more than 500 properties, with a median price of $1.65 million.

Surfers Paradise followed closely with $1.6 billion in cash purchases at a median price of $820,000 for approximately 1,200 properties.

PEXA Group chief economist Julie Toth said wealthy areas and those attracting older buyers dominated cash sales.

“Established buyers and investors are more likely to have access to other sources of finance to fund their purchase, or be able to buy outright,” she said.

Cash purchases represented 26.5 per cent of all residential transactions, slightly down from 26.9 per cent in FY23, despite overall volume rising 3.9 per cent.

Land Insight co-founder Tim Osborne said flood-affected regional areas saw high cash purchase rates due to financing challenges.

“This could indicate that potential buyers in these regions may struggle to secure insurance and/or mortgages due to financial institutions’ concerns regarding environmental risks,” he said.

Inner Melbourne recorded over $1 billion in cash purchases across 262 properties at a median price of $2.7 million, while Sydney’s Mosman and St Leonards also featured prominently.

Toth noted that increased first home buyer activity had impacted cash purchase rates in Queensland and NSW.

“This shift back towards first home buyer activity helps to explain the gradual decline in the share of cash purchases that has been evident in [Queensland and NSW] in recent quarters,” she said.