Published by WFAA | March 30, 2021
“We have women swinging umbrellas at other women on sidewalks because they literally are… fighting over who was in line first.”
It is a seller’s market on steroids right now in Texas.
Healthy housing inventory is typically six months. But some cities in Texas, including Austin, are down to days.
Todd Tramonte is a well-known real estate marketer and broker in north Texas. And he has some stories.
“We have women swinging umbrellas at other women on sidewalks because they literally are, it’s like children at school, they’re fighting over who was in line first,” Tramonte said on Y’all-itics. “We’ve had 80 plus offers on homes. We have had 100 plus showings on homes.”
Anne Lakusta is a broker for more than 3,000 real estate agents.
Her outfit at GO Management Real Estate/Keller Williams Realty did more than $8 billion in business last year, so they know real estate.
Lakusta said consumer protection is a growing concern, as some home buyers are entering into contracts that do not guarantee the final sales price.
That’s because builders simply don’t know how much some material might cost because of several shortages in the supply chain.
“It’s not that it’s not a legitimate concern,” Lakusta said. “They don’t know how much lumber is going to be. They don’t know how much the bathtub is going to be, the windows, the insulation. There’s missing information. But you’ve signed on saying that you’re going to pay for this, and you don’t know either.”
So, what’s driving the housing frenzy?
Both Tramonte and Lakusta said it all comes down to simple economics: supply is not nearly keeping up with demand at this point.
If you’re heading into the market now, Tramonte recommended that you evaluate whether you can truly afford a home. If not, you should likely sit it out.
But if you can and the prices or the competition is scaring you away, he has one piece of advice: “While you sit out, the price goes up,” he said.
Home values in North Texas, for instance, jumped 24% over the last 10 months.
