US Housing Market Is So Stressful That Buyers Are Left in Tears

With prices high and inventory tight, Americans say the process of purchasing a house is just as bad as getting fired.

The US housing market is leaving buyers in tears.

With prices high and inventory tight, 50% of homebuyers said they cried at least once during the process of purchasing a house, with the stress on par with planning a wedding or being fired, according to a survey from Zillow.

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It’s particularly bad for younger Americans, many of whom are trying to crack into the real estate market for the first time. More than 65% of Gen Z buyers said they were brought to tears by their “home-buying journey.”

Buying a home has never been easy. But the US housing market has been running hot for two years, with demand for properties surging during the early days of the pandemic. Prices have soared and with a limited number of homes available it’s been very difficult to find affordable houses.

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In April, nearly half of the homes sold in the US went for more than the asking price, up from 37% a year earlier, according to Zillow. There are also roughly 23% fewer homes on the market than there were in 2021.

Another factor? For many buyers, a mortgage doesn’t cut it. Nearly a third of recent buyers told Zillow they had lost out on a property at least once to an all-cash buyer.