Homebuying Today a Feeding Frenzy

The frenzy that is homebuying today continues to intensify, as homes sell faster, prices keep appreciating, bidding wars and all-cash sales are on the rise, and rates are going up. 

One realtor in Denver says she's seeing extreme, and increasingly aggressive buyer behavior as competition hits a fever pitch. "Prospective buyers constantly ring doorbells, regardless of whether someone else is in the middle of a showing," Curbed reports. Home price appreciation is also raising the stakes, as it is up every quarter since Q2 2012, per Attom Data Solutions. Says San Francisco agent Marco Carvajal, "things now cost an additional 20 percent. What we thought was a ridiculous price in 2015 would be a fantastic deal today.” Red Oak Realty owner and president Vanessa Bergmark says the break-into market is the most competitive, "I try and tell buyers to learn quickly. The list is not going to be the sales price. Don’t get beat up by the illusion; you’ll get resentful.”

All-cash sales have constituted nearly a third of all home purchases nationwide for the last few months, according to Attom Data Solutions. While this is lower than the 40 percent rate of all-cash sales seen in 2012 and 2013, when the recovery started and buyers began taking advantage of slipping and foreclosed homes in earnest, it’s still far higher than historical rates. In the early 2000s, the percentage of all-cash home purchases nationwide normally hovered around the high teens.

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