REALTORMag
Buyers had to be prepared to bring their housing A-game this year. Amid tight inventories of homes for sale and a tight lending environment, they’ve needed to get pre-approved for a mortgage, be laser-focused on what it is they want in in order to make quick decisions, and even forgo some contingencies to get the home they wanted.
Though active listings likely will fall more (8 percent over last year), the market still may be shifting slightly as the start of the school year arrives and give buyers more bargaining power, writes Jonathan Smoke, realtor.com®’s chief economist in his latest column.
