41Shopping for a home theSe dayS iS a miSerable Slog.
The buyers who walk away with a set of keys succeed against
long odds, prevailing despite skyrocketing prices and relent-
less competition. Even as the U.S. housing market shows
signs of cooling, buyers are still feeling enormous pressure to
move quickly before interest rates rise further, pushing more
homes out of reach. At the center of this overheated market
is a historic supply shortage. Simply put, there are nowhere
near enough houses for all the people who want to buy them.
The shortage could be described as a collapse, according
to Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel Real Estate
Appraisers and Consultants, who tracks 40 housing markets
around the country. Even if inventory tripled in some mar-
kets, home buyers would still be scrambling. “This is border-
ing on anarchy,” he says. “Demand has obliterated supply.”
The seeds of the crunch were planted in spring 2020,
when Americans found themselves unshackled from their
commutes and collectively decided the time was ripe for a
move as they spread out in search of more space. At the same
time, existing home owners opted to stay put, while cash-
flush investors snatched up single- family homes at a star-
tling clip. By March 2022, buyers had half as many homes to
choose from as they had two years earlier. The homes sold
twice as fast and cost 34% more, with buyers twice as likely
to pay above list price, according to Redfin.
Yet a bidding war also produces a winner. Often it’s a bat-
tered veteran of the pandemic market, couples who honed
their negotiating strategies over the course of multiple dis-
appointments, finally finding a house when success seemed
hopeless. Along the way, they learned valuable lessons about
how to outflank the competition and come away with not
another defeat, but a home of their own.
These are the stories of three buyers who prevailed and
how they did it.3 couples share the stories of
how they beat the most brutal
housing market in decadesBy Ronda Kaysen
MAK I NG
T H E M S E L V E S
A T
H O M E
PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRISTOPHER MORRIS FOR TIME