Being Outbid Emerges as Top Reason for Delays in Homebuying

For prospective buyers who have been house hunting for upwards of three months, the road to homeownership has been plagued with being outbid and the inability to find an affordable home. According to NAHB’s Housing Trends Report for quarter two of 2020, an increasing number of house hunters are reporting the reason for not purchasing a home at this time is due to being outbid. Multiple offers on the same property have delayed homeownership for 30% of respondents, which is a large increase from the same time last year when 18% of respondents blamed being outbid.

An earlier post revealed that 59% of buyers who were actively engaged in the process of finding a home in the second quarter of 2020 have spent upwards of 3 months searching for a home without success. Although the top reason long-time searchers haven’t pulled the trigger continues to be the inability to find an affordable home (39%), that share is much lower than a year ago (50%). Multiple offers on the same property, on the other hand, are a rising cause for the delay: 30% reported getting outbid by another buyer in the second quarter of 2020, significantly higher than the comparable 18% share a year earlier.

The final question in NAHB’s Housing Trends Report asks these veteran house hunters, who have been actively searching for a home for at least three months, about their future plans if the right home remains elusive in the months ahead:

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