The housing market is white-hot right now! Home prices are way up over last year, and 50 percent of homes are selling for more than the asking price—$20,000, $50,000, even $100,000 more in some cases. That’s causing buyers everywhere to do some insane things to get the houses they want. More than half made an offer last year without seeing the house in person. Many are even willing to skip a home inspection if it will get their offer accepted. In case you’re wondering, both are really bad ideas.
There’s nothing mysterious about a hot housing market. It’s what happens when you have more buyers than homes to buy. Demand is high, but the supply is low, and that drives up prices. I’ve heard a lot of people say we’re actually in a housing bubble. That’s when demand causes home prices to jump so high, so fast, that buyers can’t keep up. Homes stop selling, flooding the market and causing prices to drop like a rock. But I don’t think that’s what’s going on.
