IRVINE, CA—Two groups of home buyers in particular—foreign and domestic cash buyers—are spooked by the recent volatility in the stock market and so are retreating back to the relative safety of US real estate, RealtyTrac's VP Daren Blomquist tells GlobeSt.com. As we reported recently, Blomquist said, “The share of cash sales nationwide in August bounced back from a seven-year low in July, and the month-over-month increase in cash sales share was more pronounced in markets that have traditionally been magnets for foreign cash buyers, including Boston, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Seattle and New York.” We spoke with Blomquist exclusively about the rebound in all-cash home sales and what might be causing it.

GlobeSt.com: Do you believe the rebound in all-cash home sales is mostly due to foreign buyers increasing their share?

Blomquist: The increase appears to come mostly from both foreign and domestic cash buyers who are a bit spooked by the volatility in stock markets and so are retreating back to the relative safety of U.S. real estate. I say that because the markets where we saw some of the biggest jumps from July to August in share of cash sales tend to be those that are attractive to those types of buyers: places like Boston, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Seattle, San Jose and New York all saw double-digit percentage increases in the share of cash sales from July to August. But other cash hot spots such as Miami, Tampa, Orlando and Atlanta saw either single-digit increases or even decreases in share of cash sales. Those markets are more dependent on cash buyers downsizing for retirement, and we just didn't see the same lift there.

GlobeSt.com: What other factors, if any, do you believe contributed to this jump?

Blomquist: Possibly we're seeing some sellers more motivated to sell as the summer selling season draws to a close and so are willing to negotiate a lower price with a cash buyer who can move quickly. We're still digging into the data there, though.

GlobeSt.com: What are the main factors leading to increasing home sales overall?

Blomquist: Real estate is still an attractive, safe investment compared to other investment opportunities, especially in light of the recent stock-market volatility. Additionally, the lower FHA premiums and gradually relaxing lending standards, combined with the threat of rising interest rates, are getting more people off the home buying fence, particularly first-time home buyers and other traditional buyers.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about this topic?

Blomquist: The real estate markets doing the best now in terms of sales-volume growth from a year ago are those that have the ideal combination of relatively affordable homes along with jobs and amenities (both natural and manmade, if that makes sense) that appeal to Millennials and other potential first-time homebuyers—or boomerang buyers who are fed up with the high prices of where they live and so are looking to a good alternative market. So, we see markets like Salt Lake City, Portland, Minneapolis, Jacksonville, Florida, Seattle, Nashville, Charlotte and San Antonio all with increases of 15% or more in year-to-date home sales volume compared to a year ago. Except for Portland and Seattle, all those markets have a median home price below $200,000, and Portland and Seattle are still less expensive than Millennial magnet markets like Southern California, New York, San Francisco, San Jose and Washington, DC.