US Housing Market Leaving Buyers in ‘Tears’: Zillow Survey

A home is offered for sale by owner in Chicago, Ill., on Jan. 20, 2022. Scott Olson/Getty Images

The process of buying a home in today’s extremely tight low-inventory housing market is leaving 50 percent of homebuyers “in tears” according to the latest survey by real-estate marketplace company Zillow.

Among the survey respondents, Gen Zers and millennials, many of whom tend to be first-time home buyers, are more likely to “cry at least once” during the purchase process, a June 2 press release from Zillow stated. Over 65 percent of Gen Zers and 61 percent of millennials agreed to this. Roughly 90 percent of recent buyers said that they were stressed out from at least one aspect of the home-buying process.

Among the respondents, 62 percent were stressed out about finding a home within their budget, 61 percent stressed about not having enough homes in the market to choose from, and 58 percent were stressed about securing a home in their preferred neighborhood.

There are 23 percent fewer homes in the market when compared to a year back. Homes are receiving multiple offers in today’s low-inventory market, the survey said while adding that many homes were selling for over their list prices.

Almost half of all homes sold in the United States in April 2022 went for more than the asking price, a large jump from the 37 percent in April 2021. Sixty percent of sellers are reporting that they receive at least two offers for their homes.

In addition to finding a home in such a tight market, buyers also have to grapple with losing out their potential home to all-cash buyers while trying to lock in a home loan. Almost 30 percent of recent buyers admitted to losing out to such all-cash buyers at least once.

“Buying a home is not like buying any other asset; it’s deeply personal and it’s emotional,” said Zillow home trends expert Amanda Pendleton. “When you make an offer on a home, you have likely envisioned your life there.”

“If you lose out on that home to a stronger offer, it can feel like losing a future you have already started planning. These survey results find, even when they are ultimately successful, a large share of buyers in today’s competitive market experience heartache and stress.”

It is not just buyers feeling stressed out but also sellers. Some sellers are not fully prepared for the reality that their homes are going to fly off the market in just a few days or even hours.

“Once their property goes on the market and they’re inundated with showings, it’s been amazingly stressful on” the seller, particularly “when they’re looking at 12 or 24 offers and trying to understand all the contingencies,” Tiffany McQuaid, president of McQuaid & Company, a real estate services provider in Naples, Florida, said to Forbes.

Sellers who have not yet found a new home to settle in are faced with the fate of being a buyer in a tight market. In some cases, sellers might only have just a few days to leave the properties where they’re currently residing.