[quote user=GaryMcGowan]Is the general consensus for Canadian Investors to invest in the States with all cash purchases? It probably offers an easier transaction and less confusion for the average investor.
I'm not sure what the general consensus is, but it depends on the market and property type. If I had to bet one way or the other, however, I would say "yes".
For the U.S. in general approximately 28% of all transactions are all-cash and a large bulk of all-cash sales are by investors.
This doesn't mean that the remaining 72% of transactions were not by investors, but I would assume that if there were any investors in the remaining 72%, they were either pushed out of the best properties by all-cash offers (... or dealing with much much larger properties, but I'm not sure about this because I have read of huge hedge funds buying distressed boutique hotels, apartment buildings, etc. with all-cash as well).
http://www.propertywire.com/news/north-america/us-real-estate-prices-201210247072.html
And speaking to "depending on the market and property-type", in Miami, for example, nearly 73 percent of nondistressed condo sales, and 76 percent of distressed condo sales, were all-cash.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/14/realestate/big-deal-in-miami-wondering-about-a-bubble.html
Speaking of Miami, my wife and I visited and briefly considered buying just to be able to have a place to stay in Miami, but thought better of it.
As a unrelated aside, now that prices are spiking upwards, the number of investors has significantly diminished leaving locals able to pick up homes. My realtor in Phoenix, is now selling more higher priced homes to non-investor/"typical" buyers.
And as an even more unrelated aside, if the Black Swan of a Canadian economic slow down becomes a reality, it may cause the USD to crush the CAD in the near future. Or not. LOL