The Vasquezs are not unique; cash buys are becoming common. The number of homes bought with cash jumped to 32% in January compared to 26% a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors.
In Southern California, about 30% of the sales in January were cash, according to DataQuick Information Systems. Same thing in Denver. In Phoenix and Las Vegas, cash sales topped 50% of all deals.
"I’m personally closing about 30 deals a month and at least 30% of them are all cash," said Ruth Pugh, a San Diego-area agent.