There are so few homes for sale that people are placing a dozen bids before one pans out - Zillow's CEO reveals the 4 best tricks winners use to set their offers apart

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There are so few homes for sale that people are placing a dozen bids before one pans out - Zillow's CEO reveals the 4 best tricks winners use to set their offers apart

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Elbow out the competition.

  • There are 12% fewer homes for sale today than there were a year ago.
  • Buyers typically search for months and sometimes make multiple offers on different homes before one gets accepted.
  • Zillow's CEO, Spencer Rascoff, shared four tips for winning a bidding war, from choosing a reputable agent to writing the seller a letter. 

 

It's a seller's market.

A report from real-estate website Zillow finds there are 12% fewer homes for sale today than there were a year ago. So if you're looking to purchase a place, you'd best be prepared to hustle.

On an episode of Business Insider's podcast, "Success! How I Did It," Zillow's CEO, Spencer Rascoff, told Business Insider US editor-in-chief Alyson Shontell that buyers generally search for about four months before they find a place and sometimes make multiple offers on a dozen homes before one gets accepted. (A 2016 Zillow report indicates that about one-quarter of buyers make three or more offers.)

Listen to the full episode here, or listen later with the buttons below:

Rascoff also shared his best advice for standing out in a sea of prospective buyers: