In a today's market, buyers have to compete for available homes. That means, finding ways to make your offer stand out from others. Put simply, you can't expect to win a bidding war, if you aren't prepared to offer more than the next buyer. However, it's not just a matter of offering more money – though that's certainly part of it. There are other strategies as well, like waiving contingencies or promising a faster close. How you approach making your offer can be the difference between disappointment and purchasing your dream home. So what's the best strategy for winning a bidding war? Well, according to one recent analysis an all-cash offer improves a buyer's chances by 290 percent. This isn't surprising. It also isn't an option for most home buyers. The second most effective strategy was waiving the financing contingency, which protects the buyer in case they aren't able to secure a mortgage in time. But while it may improve your chances by 66 percent, it has its risks, including losing your earnest money deposit. Other popular strategies – including escalation clauses and waiving the inspection – are less risky but also less effective. Mostly, though, that's due to the fact that they're more common in a seller's market, where buyers are trying to outmaneuver each other.

New data released by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development shows the number of new homes that began construction in February was 10.3 percent lower than the month before. The decline marked the second consecutive month home building slowed. In a housing market starved for additional inventory, this may seem like discouraging news. After all, if home building slows and the number of homes for sale doesn't pick up, prices will continue to spike, affordability will suffer, and hopeful home buyers will have a harder time finding homes to buy. Fortunately, the numbers may be deceiving. How so? Well, for one, bitter cold and winter storms affected much of the country in February. And more than just typical winter weather in states accustomed to a February freeze, the storms and cold reached into Texas and much of the South. Because this likely caused home builders to pause construction, economists expect the setback will be temporary and new residential construction will rebound in the months ahead.

Each quarter, Fannie Mae asks senior mortgage executives for their views on the upcoming mortgage market. Their Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey can be a good predictor of what's ahead for housing. So what are mortgage execs saying about the coming spring and summer market? Well, for starters, they expect access to credit to remain stable. After tightening last spring, credit standards have eased over the past year and are now at pre-COVID levels. That means, qualified buyers should feel confident in their ability to be approved for a loan. Lenders also expect buyer demand to remain high this year. In fact, the survey found “demand expectations over the next three months rose significantly across all loan types from last last quarter and remained similar to the levels seen in Q1 2020.” In short, lenders are expecting a hot purchase market. However, though optimistic about demand from buyers, lenders aren't as confident in refinance activity. With mortgage rates expected to increase from all-time lows, they predict there will be fewer homeowners looking to refinance as the year progresses.

Traditionally, before you make an offer on a house, you go see it in person. After all, buying a home is a major financial transaction. You wouldn't want to make that kind of commitment without seeing exactly what you were purchasing. But these days, there are other ways to see a property and home buyers are becoming increasingly comfortable with them. In fact, digital and online tools have become more widely accepted among buyers since the coronavirus pandemic began – especially, younger ones. For example, according to a newly released survey, 59 percent of millennial buyers now say they would be, at least, somewhat confident making an offer on a home they only toured virtually. Additionally, 39 percent said they'd be comfortable buying a home entirely online. That's a significant percentage of buyers. But while substantial, it still leaves a majority of home buyers who wouldn't be comfortable making an offer sight unseen. Which means, most buyers probably prefer a mix of virtual and traditional access to the homes they're interested in seeing. It also means digital tools, like 3D-virtual tours, digital-floor plans, and self-tour technology, are likely here to stay

The housing market has done pretty well in the year since the coronavirus' onset. Following an initial slowdown, home buyers bounced back in the months after the pandemic began. Then, the market benefited from record low mortgage rates and remote work – which helped fuel Americans' interest in making a move. As a result, buyer demand surged and stayed high through the end of 2020 and into 2021. But while most measures of the market show it now surpassing pre-pandemic levels, new listings are one that continues to lag. In fact, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors' consumer website, new listings were nearly 30 percent lower than last year at the beginning of March. And when the number of available homes falls that far behind the number of interested buyers, price increases accelerate. Fortunately, Danielle Hale, the website's chief economist, says the gap between supply and demand should ease in the months ahead. “The housing market's lopsided momentum could ease in the coming months,” Hale said. “We expect the vaccine's rollout to alleviate some sellers' anxieties, which could help the supply crunch.” As that happens, and the market becomes more balanced, prices and competition should begin to wane.

To buy a house, you need to make a down payment. But how much of a down payment you decide to make depends on a lot of factors, including your savings, the price of the house you're buying, and the terms of your loan. Which means, the amount varies from one buyer to the next. There are, however, some new numbers that can help give prospective home buyers a rough idea of what to expect when the time comes. According to ATTOM Data Solutions' fourth-quarter 2020 U.S. Residential Property Mortgage Origination Report, the median down payment on single-family homes and condos at the end of last year was $24,500. Based on the median sales price of homes sold in the fourth quarter, that represents a nearly 8 percent down payment. It's also a new high and a significant jump from where it was one year earlier, when the median down payment was $13,441. Why the increase? Put simply, home prices. Already low inventory was driven lower last year by the pandemic and the lack of available homes for sale has driven prices higher. Those increases have caused down payments to grow as well. As the market balances and prices moderate, however, down payments should too. 

Last year was a surprisingly good year for the housing market. Despite the coronavirus and its economic impact, residential real estate was hot. Buyer demand was high and homes for sale sold quickly. Still, there were plenty of people who delayed their plans to buy or sell a home because of the uncertainty caused by the pandemic. Whether or not they return to the market this year will play a big role in determining what conditions look like for prospective home buyers and sellers. According to one new survey, it might come down to how quickly the coronavirus vaccine is distributed. For example, survey results show 52 percent of respondents said they'd feel comfortable moving to a new home right now. However, that number rises to 70 percent when asked if they'd feel comfortable after widespread vaccine distribution. Similarly, among homeowners who said the vaccine would factor into whether they decided to sell their home or not, almost 80 percent said it'd make them more likely to move. In short, it looks like there's a significant number of Americans who'll be ready to make a move once the vaccine has been distributed. How quickly that happens will have an effect on everything from inventory to affordability.

The coronavirus caused a shift in home buying preferences. Mitigation efforts led to more Americans working from home, which then caused buyers to look for houses in areas where they could get more space and privacy for their money. Naturally, that shift caused home prices in rural and suburban markets to begin growing at a faster rate - even outpacing prices in urban centers. But, according to one recent analysis, things may be changing. That's because, for the first time since the pandemic began, prices in cities are once again rising faster than they are in suburban and rural neighborhoods. Why the change? Well, one theory is that there is growing hope that life will soon get back to normal once the coronavirus vaccine has been distributed more widely. That hope, in turn, has caused growing interest in single-family homes in walkable urban areas close to recreation and amenities. So far, the trend has been more pronounced in metros like Baltimore, Detroit, and Cleveland where prices are up nearly 40 percent year-over-year. More expensive cities like New York, DC, and San Francisco, on the other hand, have seen much more modest increases.

If you're trying to figure out whether or not you can afford something, you typically only have to consider its price. Buying a home, however, is a bit more complicated. When you buy a house, there are variables to consider beyond the list price. You have to take things like insurance and taxes into consideration as well. That's why, despite the fact that home prices have been rising lately, buying is still a good deal in many markets. How is that possible? Well, it's mostly due to mortgage rates. According to a recently released analysis from the National Association of Realtors' consumer website, historically low interest rates have helped keep the median monthly mortgage payment relatively flat over the last year. In fact, the monthly cost to purchase a median priced home increased just 0.2 percent year-over-year, despite double-digit home price growth during the same period. Danielle Hale, the website's chief economist, says the news is encouraging but conditions can change. “With interest rates expected to rise over the coming months, buyers may need to act sooner than later to take advantage of today's affordability or be prepared to adjust their target purchase price,” Hale said.

When a home seller accepts an offer and a contract to buy is signed, that home's sale is considered pending until it closes weeks later. Because of the gap between contract signings and closings, pending sales can be a good indicator of future home sales. That's why the National Association of Realtors tracks them each month. In January, their Pending Home Sales Index hit an all-time high for the month, despite dropping almost 3 percent from December. Contract signings are now up 13 percent from last year at the same time. Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, says they'd be even higher if there were more homes for sale. “Pending home sales fell in January because there are simply not enough homes to match the demand on the market,” Yun said. “That said, there has been an increase in permits and requests to build new homes.” Regionally, the West and Northeast saw significant declines month-over-month, while the South and Midwest were relatively flat from one month earlier.