Almost two thirds of properties bought from a top estate agent this year were bought with cash.

Coldwell Banker Bermuda Realty said the number of buyers who did not need a mortgage had grown “exponentially” since 2010.

The firm’s midsummer update also said that the market for $1 million properties had strengthened.

The realtor said its team was able to collect a “tremendous” amount of information and found “several noteworthy trends”.

The firm explained: “The most astonishing data is the number of cash buyers.

“Our agents have seen this number grow exponentially since 2010 when we recorded only 3 per cent of buyers with cash.

“Last year, 43 per cent of our buyers used cash to purchase their homes.

“During the calendar year so far, 62.5 per cent of our purchasers were cash buyers.”

The estate agent said its data over two decades showed that “the island’s real estate sales have been relatively flat for the past five years” and that the average number of units sold annually was about 300.

The report added: “We anticipate seeing an improvement in transactional activity in 2019.

“Our data indicates that the $1 million-plus market segment is strengthening, as is the $750,000 to $999,000 price range.

“Based on the recent notable price reductions, it appears that buyers are now finding these prices more attractive.”

Analysis carried out by the Coldwell Banker team showed that prices were dropped for 111 properties throughout Bermuda between January and April.

The realtor said that the figure equated to about 22 per cent of the market, based on about 500 properties currently for sale on Property Skipper, an online portal.

The report explained: “The adjusted prices seem to have caught the attention of buyers because Property Skipper reports show inquiries were up by 14 per cent this April, compared with April 2018, in the sales, rentals and commercial market segments, and traffic overall in Bermuda for June was up 19 per cent compared with the corresponding period from the previous year.

“In fact, our most recent in-house demand analysis, tracking qualified buyers, indicates that our Coldwell Banker agents are actively working with 25 per cent more buyers than they did six months ago.

“Although we are continuing to see list-price erosion, buyer demand this summer appears to have been relatively robust.”