Many Home Purchase Offers Are "Sight Unseen"

Nationwide, 45% of surveyed homebuyers said they made a bid on a home without first seeing it in person, up from 28% in 2019. Redfin agents cite health concerns around the pandemic and competition fueled by a worsening housing shortage as reasons more buyers are bidding on homes before visiting them.

See the  Redfin-commissioned survey in May and June of more than 1,400 people across 29 major markets.  Article by Lily Katz.

I have had one experience myself of an offer "sight unseen" on one of my listings, 3 months ago, and several agents have also experienced one of such offers within our Coldwell Banker Los Altos office.

Francis

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More Buyers Gamble with Sight-Unseen Offers

I was really surprised to read this article in the Realtor Magazine (National Association of Realtors) about the number of people making offers without seeing the property first.
The source of the article is a survey of more than 1,500 home purchasers by the real estate company Redfin.

The figures are, I think, somewhat staggering:
in June of 2016, 19% of purchasers made an offer sight-unseen,
in May of 2017, it was 33%, and
in November/December of 2017, it was up to 35%.

It has happened to me to have a client make a purchase "long distance", so I understand the circumstances under which it can happen, but this number still surprises me.  I guess with the market going up so much, and properties selling so fast (especially in the Silicon Valley), one can see how some home buyers may have to cut some corners.

You can click on these links for more details on the Realtor.org article, and the original article on the Redfin web site.

Nationwide, US home prices are up 6.7% year-over-year in February.   

Thanks for reading!
Francis

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