"Out of State Cash" in Real Estate

This doc might not be for you. It might be for a friend or colleague you know. Feel free to pass it along to help your network (or feel smart in conversation). Or toss it. 

Goal: you know a Realtor in Indiana who understands the data, respects your intelligence, and isn’t trying to sell you a duplex blindly.

-Nolan Lamkin

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You might hear on the news, “Out of state investors are buying up everything with cash, driving up prices and squeezing locals.” If you’re an investor or thinking about a house, that could affect your approach. Maybe making you wonder if cash is the only way to compete?

Does that hold up near Indianapolis? I pulled 12 months of single family investment sales in Marion county, so we use the facts and not headlines. 

Here is the reality of the market.

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MARION COUNTY SINGLE-FAMILY INVESTOR ANALYSIS

October 2024 - October 2025 | 3,102 total investment sales

BUYER LOCATION:

 Indiana investors:        2,390 deals (77%)

 Out-of-state investors:     712 deals (23%)

CASH VS. FINANCED BY LOCATION:

   Indiana    Out-of-State

 Cash purchases:           56%         56%

 Financed purchases:     40%         35%

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THE CASH MYTH:

Notice something in the data? Out of state buyers pay cash 56% of the time. In state buyers ALSO pay cash 56% of the time. 

The financing patterns are identical. Out of state money isn’t “all hedge funds paying cash”.

Does all cash change deals? Potentially. Want killer deals? Maybe a cash foreclosure auction is for you. But the data shows savvy investors use mortgage AND cash.

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WHAT THIS MEANS:

The conventional wisdom says out of state institutional money dominates investment real estate. The Marion County data shows something different: Local investors closed 77% of deals over the past 12 months. 

Nolan Lamkin REALTOR®, RENE

Real Estate Negotiation Expert
(317) 696-9545
Local data. National perspective.