Is “consumer rage” toward home buying on the wane?

It’s the first week of 2022 and I can’t help but think back to what real estate agents and homebuyers across the country experienced just one year ago. The early weeks of 2021 were some of the most intense I’ve experienced in my career. We saw housing prices skyrocket almost overnight and the frenzied bidding wars that broke out left home buyers frustrated and heartbroken.

Buying a home is an emotional process, and the phrase I continued to hear throughout 2021 contained one of the strongest emotions humans can experience: consumer rage.

Active home buyers experienced the frustration first hand while media analysis fanned the flames for bystanders, especially anyone who might have been considering entering the home buying process.

News broke that Wall Street investors were stepping into the market to buy homes, lighting a fire of frustration about wealthy bankers easily winning bidding wars over the average buyer. The truth was this is not a new practice and it’s a small part of the market.

Trevor Noah of the Daily Show covered the conundrums of the housing market in a 10-minute segment that also detailed the current tension between Baby Boomers and Millennials. Both generations are in the market for the same homes as Millennials attempt to buy their starter homes and Boomers downsize to homes where they can age in place.

A viral TikTok that outlined a conspiracy about how a popular real estate website may have manipulated the housing market also gave frustrated home buyers a new reason to rage. It felt like a betrayal to learn that the platform potential home buyers use to search for homes used data from those searches to drive up home prices and make it harder to buy.

Has that rage finally started to cool? As I discussed in my 2022 forecast, I don’t anticipate seeing the same scenario of bidding wars and extreme price increases that we saw in 2021. Now that the bidding wars aren’t aggravating the systemic frustrations, I suspect that we may experience less consumer rage in 2022. That being said, a quick scroll through the comment sections on the videos linked above suggests that some potential homebuyers are feeling more defeated than anything else.

If you are considering buying a home, take a deep breath and give me a call. A good agent can guide you through this important wealth building process with less stress and more success. The time to act is now before interest rates start rising. Reach out to me anytime at 360-508-2800 or kwoodford@kw.com.

Kristy Woodford is CEO of Holistic Home Group, which is affiliated with Keller Williams South Sound. She has over ten years of experience as a broker of residential real estate in Thurston County and leads a team of realtors experienced in serving local buyers and sellers.