The number of home buyers bringing all-cash to a transaction this year is on track to be the lowest since 2008, according to new findings from CoreLogic, a real estate data firm. For the first two months of this year, the share of cash sales averaged 35.6 percent. Read more: Study: Cash Buyers Bought at 23% Discount In January 2011, cash sales peaked at 46.6 percent of total home sales nationally. Cash sales comprised 35.7 percent of all home sales in February, down 2.5 percentage points from a year ago. Prior to the housing crisis, the share of cash sales averaged about 25 percent. CoreLogic analysts predict that if cash sales continue on current trends, all-cash sales should reach the 25 percent mark by mid-2018. Real estate-owned (REO) sales continue to have the largest share of cash sales at 59.2 percent. Resales followed at a 35.6 percent share of cash sales, and then short sales at 32.6 percent and new-home construction homes at 15.2 percent, according to CoreLogic’s report. Of the nation’s largest metros, Syracuse, N.Y. had the lowest share of cash sales at 11.5 percent. On the other hand, the following areas had the highest share of cash sales in February: Philadelphia, Pa.: 54.5% Detroit, Mich.: 53.8% West Raton-Delray Beach, Fla.: 53.4% Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Fla.: 52.5% Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla.: 51.8%

Source: Core Logic