I'm currently in the market and I can affirm that it is super-bananas. With Covid rules, you get ~15 minutes to view a property. You basically have to decide t

I'm currently in the market and I can affirm that it is super-bananas. With Covid rules, you get ~15 minutes to view a property. You basically have to decide to put an offer down as you are walking out the door. My SO and I saw a place we liked and were considering an offer. Before we could even drive home, the place had gone under contract. Our location has homes on sale for ~36 hours, starting Thursday at noon (it seems that's the time most have settled on). You cannot sleep on this decision, there just isn't the time to do so. Sellers will get ~14 offers, all very much over asking. A property listed for ~$450k go for ~$550k now. ~$650k go for ~$800k. Three years ago, that same house was ~$400k. To be competitive, you must waive inspections outright. Health and safety objections used to be a thing, but it's so competitive that you just can't anymore. Inspectors are booked for showings as a result, with ~15 min to check on things. All cash offers are ~1/3 offers, per what my RE friends say. If you are doing a mortgage, the new time to close is ~20 days, not 30. Banks/credit unions are not having a fun time with such a crunch, as buyers are walking away for higher rates due to the time crunch and the very low rates to begin with. Appraisal gaps are ~18% or so. Meaning that the bank will appraise the house for about the listed price still, but buyers must state they will cover the gap in price. That is ~18% more than what the bank will give out. Thus the 20% downpayment becomes the appraisal gap coverage. A lot of people are going to 5% down-payments or less. Open-ended escalation clauses are a thing to. You just put in the contract that you'll automatically bid ~$5k over the next person, no ending, no need to contact. As such, things are getting pretty wild when more than one party has that in their contract. They really cannot build houses fast enough, and those that are come with special taxes that are ~2x the normal ones, forever. This is due to the need for materials that Coivd has affected and the speed needed just to lay the pipes and roads. Again, inspections are waived to stay competitive. Like I said, it is super-bananas. EDIT: This tiktok is only a tiny bit hyperbolic about the current state of things: https://www.tiktok.com/@johnsonfiles/video/6952930617298291973?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1 https://www.tiktok.com/@johnsonfiles/video/69529306172982919...