With so few homes to choose from these days, home buyers are spending less time shopping for their new property and more time fighting for the few that interest them. According to a new report from the National Association of Realtors, homebuyers who successfully purchased a home in 2021 viewed a median of just eight properties before completing their transaction. This is the lowest number recorded since NAR began keeping track in 1987.
Between 2009 and 2011, buyers viewed a median of 12 homes before making a purchase but inventory was much higher during that time, giving house hunters more options to choose from.
In addition to low inventory levels, NAR’s report also cites buyers leveraging technology more as a contributing factor to the decreased number of homes buyers view before making a purchase. Last year, 95 percent of home buyers stated they used a website to look for homes and more than half stated that they found the home they wanted to buy online.
Today, conforming no-point 30-year fixed mortgage rates are averaging 3.0 percent and 15-year rates are near 2.25 percent.
Do you have a question for Real Estate & Mortgage Analyst Mehran Aram? Submit your queries about a home purchase, refinance, or reverse mortgage via Aramco.biz, social media (#AramcoReport), or over the phone at (877) 700-0942 and your questions may be featured in an upcoming article.
