All-cash buyers continue to retreat into the background. RealtyTrac reports that all-cash purchases dropped to 24.6% of all single-family and condo sales in May. This is down from 28.5% in April. As recently as February 2011, all-cash purchases accounted for over 42% of all sales.

A normal, stable home market is driven by owner-occupied buyers. An owner-occupied market is a market where buyers look to a house as a home, not as a profit center. Stability and predictability rein in such a market.

Stability and predictability extend to price appreciation, which should return to a normalized historical rate in more markets. Normalized price appreciation, in turn, should generate more inventory, particularly for young and first-time buyers. Most investment properties are taken from starter-home inventory. The trend to more owner-occupied buyers is good news for young people entering the market.

We're not disparaging investment buyers. They were vital to the recovery. Without someone – mostly investors – to halt the slide, we'd be a few years behind in the progress we've made to date. That said, normalcy needs to eventually take over to sustain the market. Fortunately, normalcy has taken over in 2015.

Information provided by Jessica Regan.

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