A fifth of recent homebuyers said they made an offer sight-unseen
The number of homebuyers making offers sight unseen has declined, indicating that buyers are under less pressure to make hasty bids as competition eases, according to Redfin.
A Redfin-commissioned survey in May found that 20% of recent homebuyers made an offer sight-unseen. Respondents were 1,463 people across 14 major markets who had bought a home in the last year. That figure is down from 35% in a similar survey conducted in November.
Redfin noted that the rate of sight-unseen offers is still high, attributing the number to technology that has made it easier to learn about a home from anywhere with internet access. Redfin also said that it expects sight-unseen offers to become more commonplace, even throughout fluctuations in supply and demand over time, as technologies continue to advance and people become more comfortable relying on them to make big financial decisions.
Redfin first reported in July that the market was beginning to shift toward buyers' favor. Buyers were less hasty in making offers, becoming choosier about what homes to move on. With less multiple-offer situations, buyers now have even more time to visit homes in person before making an offer.
"Now that most homes are staying on the market for longer than a week, there just isn't as much pressure for buyers to make offers so hastily," said Jessie Culbert, a Redfin agent in Seattle. "That's a big change from earlier this year when sellers set offer review deadlines, and they were strict! This meant that whether or not you had time to physically step inside the home, you had to get your offer in on time in order to be considered. Otherwise, you would miss out entirely on the opportunity to compete for it."
