When real estate agents say they want your listing, they mean it.
A low inventory of homes for sale nationwide is prompting home buyers to make offers that are above the asking price.
It's to get the house they want -- and to outfox other people doing the very same thing to land a much-sought family home.
It's prompting people to max out their budgets -- and sometimes go beyond it.
We're seeing it even in the Greater Houston area.
Expert says the lower supply and higher demand are driving up prices in a real estatye market that's already healthy.
The Houston Association of Realtors reports that, in March:
--Houston's real estate listings were 4.6 percent thinner than the same time last year.
--Selling prices for family homes have jumped 3 percent in that same time, to average of more than $292,000.
Experts caution to tailor your bidding to what you can truly afford.
Are you shopping?
For KTRH listeners looking to buy or sell a home, here are some other local real estate highlights for March that offer a snapshot into the market you diving into:
--Single-family home sales fell 2.5 percent year-over-year, with 6,810 units sold.
--Days on market (DOM) for single-family homes increased slightly from 61 days in March 2017 to 63 days this March.
--Total property sales declined 2.3 percent with 8,274 units sold.
--Total dollar volume edged up 0.7 percent to $2.3 billion.
--The single-family home median price rose 2.4 percent to $233,500, which represents a March high.
--The single-family home average price climbed 3.0 percent to a March high of $292,756.
--Single-family homes months of inventory shrank year-over-year from a 3.6-months supply to 3.4 months, the highest level of this year and the same as the national inventory level.
--Townhome/condominium sales fell 5.4 percent, with the average price up 3.3 percent to $211,944 and the median price up 9.6 percent to $172,250.
--Leases of single-family homes fell 9.0 percent with the average rent up 6.0 percent to $1,748.
--Volume of townhome/condominium leases dropped 13.1 percent with average rent up 0.7 percent to $1,496.
For more information, visit https://www.har.com.