Half as Many Houses Available
The housing market currently has a limited supply of potential buying options. Prospective buyers shopping today have 52% fewer homes to choose from than at this time last year, according to Realtor.com's Monthly Housing Trends Report. This supply crunch translates to a record median list price of $370,000, 15.6% higher than a year ago. The numbers are even steeper in hot markets like Austin, Texas.1
Retaining Some Inspection Contingency
In today's super-competitive housing market, buyers often are waiving their offer's contingency on inspection. Realtors report using middle-of-the-road options for this bargaining chip that don't leave the buyer open to bigger issues with the home. For example, rather than skipping an inspection contingency wholesale, some agents modify the language to exclude any single repair valued at less than $500.2
Americans Prefer Real Estate to Stocks
Ninety percent of people surveyed by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York would rather invest their money in buying a home than in the stock market. They cited the stability of housing as the deciding factor in their preference.3
Many Buying Homes Remotely
An increasing number of buyers are closing on their new homes without ever setting foot in them. The pandemic accelerated technological trends toward virtual walk-throughs. People can shop for their dream home from anywhere in the world and put in an early offer to win out in a hyper-competitive environment.5
Sources: 1magazine.realtor, 2Bankrate, 3magazine.realtor.com, 5forbes.com
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