Buyers Pull Back After Extended House Hunting

Last winter, the Veros family found a home that fulfilled their modest wishlist and placed a bid for $6,000 over asking. When they learned the winning bid offered $60,000 more, the Veros knew they needed to give everything they could. Their next offer was $60,000 over and waived inspections, but it was nowhere near enough to distinguish themselves from the 53 other offers. Many buyers have the same experience, and it’s starting to take a toll. The New York Times reports that Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index found 64% of people think it’s a bad time to buy, up from 56% the month before.

Stratospheric prices, brutal bidding wars and record low inventory have conspired to make many prospective home buyers frustrated and fatigued.

And some are calling off their search, for reasons that range from an inability to compete financially, to an unwillingness to waive contingencies like an inspection, to a belief the market will cool in time. Home sales have dropped for four months straight, even as prices have hit record highs.

Mark Boyland, a realtor with Keller Williams in Bedford, N.Y., is noticing “some buyer fatigue out there,” he said. “If you’ve lost out on four or five multiple offer situations, you say: ‘Maybe we should wait until things cool off.’ ”

A real estate market like the current one may be a boon to sellers, but it is emotionally exhausting for would-be buyers. “Every time you’re putting an offer on a house, you’ve effectively fallen in love,” Mr. Boyland said. “And now you’re getting your heart broken. Over and over and over again.”

Thomas Brown is co-founder of the Agency Texas, a brokerage that serves San Antonio, Houston and the Austin metro area, where home prices were up 43.9 percent year-over-year in April, the biggest jump among the country’s largest 85 metros, according to a report by Redfin. Not surprisingly, “there’s a lot of people pausing their searches right now,” Mr. Brown said. “The market is starting to stabilize. Not normalize. Stabilize.”

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