With housing inventory still in short supply and historically low mortgage rates starting to inch back upward, the real estate market has gone from brisk to combative. In such a competitive environment, many buyers feel pressure to move quickly and stretch their budgets to make sure a property they love doesn’t slip through the cracks. In fact, according to a homeownership report from Hippo Insurance, 68 percent of buyers in 2021 paid above asking price.
Kevin Kieffer, a Realtor with Compass’ EastBayPro Team in the San Francisco Bay area, calls this behavior “panic buying.” In the current market, he says, it can be easy for prospective homeowners to get in over their heads. Don’t let that happen to you. Instead, get familiar with panic buying and its pitfalls, and learn how to avoid them.
What is panic buying?
