64 KIPLINGER’S PERSONAL FINANCE^ 04/2020
HOME PRICES
ON THE RISE
KAUSHIK MUKERJEE AND PREETI VASISHTHA faced stiff competition when they set
out to buy a home last spring. The couple, who live in Northern Virginia and have an
8-year-old son, were looking for a home in a good school district, but they lost out to
other bidders on two houses before their offer on a townhouse stuck. “In one case we
competed against 10 other offers, and the home sold for $20,000 above list price,”
Mukerjee says. Ultimately, the couple paid $502,000—slightly above list price—for
a 2,000-square-foot, three-bedroom townhouse in Burke, Va.
Kody Henderson, a 26-year-old first-time home buyer, also grappled with a hyper-
active market when he looked for a home in the Seattle area. He struck out on three
before he snagged a three-bedroom single-family house for $465,000 in Burien, Wash.,
last November. “I kept getting beat by cash offers that were usually above list price,”
says Henderson. “It was frustrating.”
More buyers are looking for a home than at any time since 2013. Skylar Olsen, Zillow’s
director of economic research, says demand for homes has increased over the past five
years as a result of strong economic growth as well as low mortgage rates and moreA tight supply of homes for sale and lower mortgage rates
are pushing up home values. Sellers and homeowners
are reaping the rewards. BY DANIEL BORTZREWARDS
PHOTOGRAPH BY RYAN DONNELL