Odd Lots

Transcript: Inventory Vanishing and Bidding Wars Exploding in Crazy U.S. Housing Market

A worker installs wood on the exterior frame of a home under construction in the CastleRock Communities Sunfield residential development in Buda, Texas, U.S., on Wednesday, May 15, 2021. Across the U.S., house prices are skyrocketing, bidding wars are the norm and supply is scarcer than ever. Now the market is too hot even for homebuilders.Photographer: Sergio Flores/Bloomberg

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By Tracy Alloway and Joe Weisenthal

January 21, 2022 at 3:40 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

If you wanted to buy a home in 2021, you probably found it a frustrating experience, rife with a shortage of options and intense bidding wars. Well? Bad news: So far, things are even hotter in 2022. So what's going on? Where are all the homes disappearing to? Why is there nothing for sale? Why are people happy to place higher and higher bids? On this episode we speak with Mike Simonsen, the CEO and founder of the real estate data provider Altos Research, to explain the acute and long-term trends driving the market. Transcripts have been lightly edited.