n today’s housing market, it seems harder than ever to find a home to buy. Before the health crisis hit us a year ago, there was already a shortage of homes for sale. When many homeowners delayed their plans to sell at the same time that more buyers aimed to take advantage of record-low mortgage rates and purchase a home, housing inventory dropped even further. Experts consider this to be the biggest challenge facing an otherwise hot market while buyers continue to compete for homes. As Danielle Hale, Ch... read more

The extreme pandemic-driven seller’s market is intensifying and will likely last through the first half of the year. In the week ending January 24, home-sale prices soared 18% and pending sales grew 28% from the same period last year. Fifty-five percent of homes that went under contract that week found a buyer in 14 days or less—the largest share to sell that quickly in at least nine years (Redfin data on this measure goes back through 2012). “The main thing going on is scarcity of homes for sale.... read more

It may be winter, but the temperature of many real estate markets around the country is 100 degrees, with a heat index that feels more like 120. Homes are selling as fast as you can fry an egg on the sidewalk on a ultra-hot day. With the pandemic housing boom, multiple upon multiple offers, bidding wars and people selling their homes on their time and terms, working with an agent may be the furthest thing from a potential seller’s mind. The mere utterance to a neighbor that they are thinking of selling m... read more

If the year behind us has shown the need to change plans and run with the unexpected, 2021 will be all about knowing the ins and outs of the market. From the urban exodus to the impact on home choices driven by Americans’ increased ability to work from home, a number of factors continue to influence which properties and markets are most successful, Zelman & Associates CEO Ivy Zelman said during the “Digitization and the Shifting Consumer Experience” sess... read more