Prospective Buyers Frustrated by Bidding Wars, but Continue to Search

Housing Affordability
Published

Home buyers have not only struggled to contend with double-digit price hikes; they’re also having difficulty purchasing homes because of bidding wars. For only the third time in the history of NAHB’s Housing Trends Report, the top reason buyers are struggling to buy a home is because they are getting outbid (45%).

For reference, in the first quarter of 2018, only 18% of prospective buyers indicated that bidding wars were an issue in their home-buying process. Affordability remains a concern (36%), along with finding a home in the right neighborhood and desired features.

Nearly half of buyers (49%) indicated, though, that if they are unable to find a home in the next few months, they will continue searching for the “right” home in the same location. Almost 30% said they would also be willing to buy a smaller or older home, up from 24% the previous quarter.

Rose Quint, NAHB assistant vice president for survey research, provides more details in this Eye on Housing post.

Subscribe to NAHBNow

Log in or create account to subscribe to notifications of new posts.

Log in to subscribe

Latest from NAHBNow

Land Development

Oct 20, 2025

USPS Clarifies Cluster Mailbox Guidance

For more than 10 years, confusion over U.S. Postal Service (USPS) requirements for cluster mailbox units (CBUs) in new housing development has challenged builders nationwide. This issue recently resurfaced in the Greensboro, N.C., as developers in the area faced a lack of communication and arbitrary rules from local USPS representatives.

Sponsored Content | Safety

Oct 17, 2025

Put Your Guard Up: Guardrails Protect Everyone

Guardrail Safety Week is Oct. 20-24, and each year, NAHB partners with Builders Mutual, an insurance company focused on construction companies, in their Put Your Guard Up campaign to highlight the importance of installing guardrails on openings during construction.

View all

Latest Economic News

Economics

Oct 20, 2025

Non-Conventional Financing for New Home Sales Loses Ground in 2024

Nationwide, the share of non-conventional financing for new home sales accounted for 31% of the market per NAHB analysis of the 2024 Census Bureau Survey of Construction (SOC) data. This is 1.7 percentage point lower than the 2023 share of 32.4%. As in previous years, conventional financing dominated the market at 69.3% of sales, higher than the 2023 share of 67.6%.

Economics

Oct 17, 2025

Better Growth, Larger Deficits: CBO Fiscal Outlook

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a key nonpartisan score keeper that measures the effects of policy changes by the Federal Government. With several policy changes since January of this year, including the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), stricter immigration, and higher tariffs, the CBO updated its economic projections through 2028.

Economics

Oct 16, 2025

Amid Market Challenges, Builder Expectations Rise in October

Even as builders continue to grapple with market and macroeconomic uncertainty, sentiment levels posted a solid gain in October as future sales expectations surpassed the 50-point breakeven mark for the first time since last January.