A weekend topic starting with ABC 7. "Those who know the market say this is not a bubble, it's a boom, accelerated by the pandemic. Even though the market is slowing down a bit, the numbers are still astronomical. Some houses in the region are literally being sold within days, in some cases, just hours. The best advice Jocelyn Vas, a Real Estate Agent in DC, Maryland, & Virginia can give homebuyers right now is be patient, know the process, be prepared for letdowns, you might make several offers on a home before you actually get one. 'Real estate is becoming a luxury, it's not the American dream, it’s a luxury to own. One in five owners of homes never live in the property, meaning these are investors. All of that information is saying to me it’s all really changing quite a bit, the housing market,' Va said."

From WGLT. "Karen Campbell has lived in Bloomington-Normal for 20 years and owns a two-story, four-bedroom, two bathroom house with a nearly-finished basement and two-car garage in the Park Place subdivision. She wanted to put her house on the market more than a year ago, but then the pandemic hit and the real estate market dried up. Fast forward a year later, Campbell started realizing how crazy the market is, not only in Bloomington-Normal, but in Indiana where she hoped to move to be closer to her grandchildren. After trying to line up appointments to see homes, she learned over and over again, the properties already were sold by the time her realtor reached out."

"'To have them swiped out from under me before I could even see them was exasperating. It didn’t seem like they were taking offers. It seemed like they were taking bids. I thought to myself, 'Do I make an offer on something I’ve never even stepped foot in?'"

"So are appraisals coming in too low for what’s happening in the McLean County market? Penny Wilson, past president of the Mid-Illinois Realtors Association, said that was the case early on, but not so much now. 'Now that we’ve had so many homes close now in the higher market, I think the appraisals are coming back better.' The average home sale price is up a little more than 34% from a year ago, with the average newly-built home coming in at nearly $300,000 and existing homes have an average price of $171,542."

From Spectrum News. "If you’re a homeowner in New York, you may have noticed your house is worth a lot more. 'Every day is different,' said Kellie Jo Maher. 'I absolutely love it.' She loves the rush of helping folks buy or sell a home, though she’s never quite experienced a rush like this. 'They’re all experiencing the same thing. The joke is that 'I’ll give you $50,000 over asking, my first born, a year of tacos for free.' It’s ridiculous what you’re trying to throw in the deal,' said Maher."

"In Central New York, the median home selling price in April increased by 18 percent compared to last year, according to the Greater Syracuse Association of Realtors. 'First-time homebuyers and all the other agents, they’re struggling with their buyers who don’t have a lot of money to put down,' said Maher. 'They’re waiving home inspections.'"

"It all begs the question: Where will the market go from here? 'Everyone asks this question. My buyers always ask me this question. I don’t know. We just have to go with the flow,' said Maher."

From Bham Now. "The US housing market is as hot as an Alabama summer. You can’t look at the news without hearing talk about whether we’re in a housing market bubble, and if so, when the bubble will burst. According to bankrate.com, 'A real estate bubble, also referred to as a ‘housing bubble,’ occurs when the price of housing rises at a rapid pace, driven by an increase in demand, limited supply and emotional buying. Once speculators recognize that housing prices are on the rise, they enter the market, further driving up demand. The phenomenon is called a bubble because at some point it will burst.'"

"A sentiment echoed by several of the Realtors we spoke with: instead of a wildly speculative market that’s bound to come crashing down, we’re actually in a very strong market that over time will adjust, but we’re not necessarily doomed to a big crash like we experienced in 2007-08."

"Buyers are making emotionally-driven decisions. Each Realtor told stories about people buying houses they’ve never been in, making offers not contingent on inspections, paying cash for the amount above the appraised value of the home and more. 'I want this house and I want it now' definitely seems to be a driving factor in the current marketplace."

"Speculators are entering the market, driving up demand. Janet Hamm: President, Greater Alabama Association of Realtors said that this is happening in the Birmingham area, with flippers buying houses, fixing them up and flipping them for a profit."

"Still, at some point, Birmingham housing bubble or no, there will be a correction in the market. 'If you look back through all the records, housing is cyclical. It goes up, it comes down. Prices go up, they come down. Interest rates go up, they come down. So everything is cyclical. But houses are still selling, and every day new houses come on the market. I don’t know if it’s a bubble. It’s just real estate.' - Janet Hamm."

The Globe and Mail in Canada. "Toronto’s housing market slowed in May, the second straight month of declining sales, as buyer fatigue set in and prices fell in two areas outside the city. 'We are not seeing the same level of craziness,' said Shawn Zigelstein, a broker with Royal LePage Your Community Realty, who said some of his clients are exhausted from losing out on numerous bidding wars and are taking a break."

"During the pandemic, sales activity in the suburbs and smaller cities have been frenetic, with buyers working from home trying to get bigger, cheaper properties. But with prices now 20 per cent to 40 per cent higher than this time last year, those areas are becoming unattainable for more residents. That combined with slightly higher mortgage rates, buyer fatigue and more inventory has tempered some of the real estate activity."

"'Prices keep on going up and that is kind of not encouraging for buyers,' said Paul Singh, a realtor with Justo Brokerage. Mr. Singh, who has closed 40 real estate deals since the fall, said buyers have become a bit more cautious and are saying maybe we should take a break, maybe price increases will stop."

From Clay Today in Florida. "When I drove over the Shands Bridge last Tuesday, I thought it was for the final time. I was wrong. After selling my condominium a couple of months ago and renting while I looked for a house here in Clay County, I decide to make the move, even if it meant renting for a few more months until people come to their senses with this current real estate market."

"There’s no real solution on this side of the Shands Bridge. Houses are being sold well above their market values because people are panic buying. These probably are the same people who still have 3,000 rolls of toilet paper from a year ago. Maybe they were sitting in a gas line for hours when the Colonial Pipeline shut down for a few days. Some panic-driven motorists even tried to store gas in zip-lock bags! Heck, I’m old enough to remember filling the backseat of my Ford Pinto with 12 packs of the original Coke when New Coke was introduced."

"It’s so tempting to cash in now because there are plenty of people who are willing to recklessly outbid your best offer. More frightening is there are plenty of buyers who are willing to skip inspections, appraisals and pay the closing costs. That’s insane."

"There’s still no reason to fall into this trap, MIT housing economist Bill Wheaton told National Public Radio. 'Don’t buy into a frenzy,' Wheaton said. If you factor out inflation, the past one-year gain in home prices is about 10%, he said. 'It’s never been that high – ever in the last 50 years, so there’s really something going on,' he said."

"At some point, supply will kick in and prices will drop. Like a rock. I know the real value of a house is what somebody’s willing to pay, but there’s no logical reason for a house that’s listed at $220,000 to go for $260,000 or more. If houses on a street are generally valued at $225,000 each, once a person cashes in on the frenzied atmosphere, the values of the houses on that street still are $225,000 – including the house that sold."

"What the seller will learn quickly is once they sell, they likely will realize how difficult it is to find a new place. Turnabout really is fair play. On top of that, everything associated with the housing and moving industries are raising prices to ridiculous levels. Why? Because they can. For now. That 10-by-5 storage unit I needed because my movers didn’t understand they needed to take everything now costs me more than $200 a month. Four months ago, it was less than $100."

"All of this has made me even more determined not to be lured into this sucker market. I’m perfectly willing to pay fair market value – or even a little above. But I’m not going to be stupid. Frenzies come and go. Beanie Babies did. So did Pet Rocks."