More than a quarter of luxury LA home buyers pay in cash

Median home sales nationwide might be floundering, but the high-end luxury market is still flush, especially in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles’ luxury inventory is selling at a healthy clip, according to a Realtor.com report. High-end homes across monied enclaves, like Beverly Hills, Bel-Air and Malibu, are selling to all-cash buyers unfazed by the city’s stringent mansion tax or ongoing economic uncertainties.

More than 6,600 Los Angeles homes in the $1 million to $5 million dollar range sold between January and May. An impressive 25.4% of those transactions were all-cash — the highest share in more than a decade, according to Realtor.com senior analyst Hannah Jones.

“It emphasizes the financial standing of today’s high-end buyers,” said Jones. “These are deep-pocketed individuals, often less sensitive to interest rates and more motivated by lifestyle, investment diversification or long-term value.”

Not even the city’s mansion tax — a 4% fee on home sales over $5.15 million — seems to be deterring ambitious buyers. The percentage of all-cash deals increased alongside price tags, with up to 56.7% of deep-pocketed buyers paying cash in 104 transactions priced above $10 million.

The renewed strength of the city’s luxury market contrasts sharply with the reality facing most residents. An ongoing housing shortage and median home prices approaching $1.2 million continue to keep most hopeful homeowners on the sidelines.

June saw California dominate half of Redfin’s monthly ranking of the country’s most expensive home sales. Paris Hilton’s $63.1 million purchase of Mark Wahlberg’s former mega-mansion in Beverly Hills led the leaderboard.

The heiress, alongside her husband Carter Reum, scooped up the 12-bedroom gated property after losing her family’s home of four years in the Palisades Fire early this year.

Celebrities and foreign buyers are the dominating demographic of the trend, Realtor.com reported. Foreign buyers, particularly Chinese and Canadian buyers, made up nearly 15% of luxury LA sales this spring.