Survey: Buyers Making Offers Without Seeing Homes

A report by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) revealed that 25% of realtors received official offers on real estate properties before buyers even laid eyes on the homes in person. 

The remaining three out of four buyers that placed official offers—on average—were the ones who actually went through an official home tour, albeit online or in person. An additional interesting tidbit that the report divulged—apart from the percentage of buyers who actually took part in a home tour—was the fact that buyers were found to view an average of roughly nine housing properties before placing their official bids with their realtor. This particular piece of data was derived from NAR’s 2019 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.

Following this information regarding placed home bids, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun offered a forecast for what he predicts for the future of the housing industry: “Expect second-quarter home sales activity to slow down with the broad observance of stay-at-home orders, but sales will pick up when the economy reopens as many potential home buyers and sellers indicate they’re still in the market or will be in a couple of months.”

After voicing some optimism regarding the future of home buying, Yun offered his thoughts on what is happening—and will happen— to home prices specifically: “Home prices remain stable as deals continue to happen with the growing use of new technology tools. Remarkably, 10% of realtors report the same level or even more business activity now than before the economic lockdown.”

Also included in the report were findings uncovered by NAR’s latest Economic Pulse Flash Survey, which delved into how the coronavirus outbreak has impacted the residential and commercial real estate markets. Members’ responses revealed that one-third of realtors experienced no closing delays, and among those who did, the delays were direct results of issues involving financing, appraisals, and home inspections.

Regarding renters struggling to pay their bills, the report showed that many landlords (an estimated 41% of property managers and 24% of individual landlords) are being lenient and making various allowances for such cases and hardships.