Less than a day after realtor Andrea White listed a three-bedroom home for sale in Sacramento, California, in March, she received a cash offer. The buyer – who hadn’t even seen the house in person – was ready to pay $ 520,000, White said. That was $ 21,000 above the asking price and 37% more than what the seller paid for the farmhouse just two years ago.
Accepting the offer was the easy part. Mrs. White then had to call 17 other agents who had scheduled visits to the house to let them know that she was out of the market.
Mrs. White, who works for brokerage Redfin Corp. and has been an agent since 2014, he has never seen anything like the sales craze taking over his northern California city. “It’s exhausting,” she said. “I’m speechless. It is painful for buyers; it is a celebration for salespeople. “
Last year was the hottest year for sales activity in 14 years. House prices are rising in virtually every corner of the U.S., and average selling prices in dozens of metropolitan areas have seen double-digit percentage increases since a year ago, according to Zillow Group Inc. In Boise, Idaho, the average selling price increased by almost 25% in January compared to the previous year, while in Stamford, Connecticut, it increased by 19%.
“Prices are on the rise virtually everywhere,” said Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wells Fargo & Co. “It is surprising to see house prices rebound so quickly, at this magnitude, so early in an economic recovery.”