SAN ANTONIO – The housing market has hit a fever pitch over the last year due to high demand and incredibly low interest rates causing price increases for homes, bidding wars between buyers and some pretty crazy stories from anyone who has bought or sold a home in the past year.
Realtors have also had it hard trying to help navigate the housing market boom and pair buyers with sellers to find their perfect place.
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A few weeks ago we asked Realtors, buyers and sellers to share their wildest real estate experiences as they relate to the real estate market over the last year.
One person who responded to the prompt said “we sold our house in 1 day, the buyers got cold feet, so did we, from being told to offer 1000s over asking, so we did a refi [refinance] instead.”
Potential buyers are having to act quickly in this market. As of June 2021, homes are only staying on the market for an average of 26 days. That’s dropped drastically from 60 days in June 2020, according to the latest data released from the San Antonio Board of Realtors.
And prices have jumped up significantly. The average price of a home increased 19% from June 2020 to June 2021 with the average price of a home sitting around $345,000. Many buyers are offering cash above the asking price of a home to beat out other homebuyers.
One such buyer told KSAT “20 houses and 10 offers later, ending up paying $17,900 more for the home we ultimately ‘won’ the bid on, sight unseen. Luckily, we LOVE it!”
Housing prices have been driven up by the lack of inventory and, according to Freddie Mac, 30-year fixed rates for mortgages are at historically low percentages.
According to a report from Texas Monthly, real estate agents have described a “buying frenzy that has defied models, unleashed record-breaking, all-cash bidding wars, and pulverized middle-class homebuyers who are unable to compete.”
Here’s a weird one - one buyer told KSAT “the seller of our house refused to give us the mailbox key or security code to the alarm. She wanted to keep getting her mail at our address.”
Have you bought, sold or leased a home recently? KSAT wants to hear what you think.
Maybe you’re a realtor or real estate agent with a crazy story from this latest housing market boom? We may publish your thoughts on our website or feature them in our newscasts.
Related: SA home sellers see rush of buyers, multiple offers in highly competitive market