Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Make a sustaining gift today to support local journalism!

Buying A Home In Today’s Rough Real Estate Market

In this Monday, Feb. 27, 2017, photo, real estate signs mark the lots near one of the new homes for sale in a development for new homes in Cranberry Township, Butler County, Pa. (Keith Srakocic/AP)
In this Monday, Feb. 27, 2017, photo, real estate signs mark the lots near one of the new homes for sale in a development for new homes in Cranberry Township, Butler County, Pa. (Keith Srakocic/AP)

With guest host Jane Clayson.

Looking to buy a home? Welcome to the toughest market in a decade. We’ll look at the map of real estate realities around the country.

Jam-packed open houses. Ugly bidding wars. Multiple, multiple offers. The spring real estate market has sprung and it’s leaving buyers in the weeds. Millennials crawling out of parents’ basements or rentals, retirees looking to downsize—anyone looking for an affordable home—is facing the toughest buyer’s market in a decade. Across the country, inventory is near 20-year lows and prices are soaring. This hour On Point, the spring market’s big chill.

Guests

Laura Kusisto, U.S. housing and economy reporter for The Wall Street Journal. (@LauraKusisto)

Susan Wachter, professor of real estate and finance at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. (@susan_wachter)

Cotty Lowry, president of the Minnesota Area Association of Realtors. (@cottylowry)

From The Reading List

The Wall Street Journal: Buying a Home This Spring Will Be Hardest in Years — “This year’s spring selling season promises to be the toughest for buyers in a decade, economists said, as rising prices and mortgage rates combine with inventory near 20-year lows.”

CNBC: Spring housing already overheating—think 60 offers on one house — “The spring housing market started early this year, not because of higher-than-average temperatures but because of hotter-than-average demand and overheating home prices. This year may be the starkest example of a post-recession reality that is redefining housing as we know it.”

New York Times: 2017: Year of the Renter — “The biggest deals are happening at the top of the market, where some luxury developments are offering as much as four months of free rent on a two-year lease. But deals are to be had in older, less expensive buildings, too. Despite these concessions, some apartments linger vacant for months. Worried that a slowdown will continue, many landlords are not raising the rent when leases come up for renewal, and some are even throwing in perks like gift cards.”

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

You make NHPR possible.

NHPR is nonprofit and independent. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. Your support makes this news available to everyone.

Give today. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference.