Realtors fielding offers as high as $1M above asking price in competitive Triangle housing market

The Triangle’s hot housing market is pumping up prices – with buyers paying $100,000, $500,000 or even $1 million over the listing price. So what does it take to get the home of your dreams?

Realtors say you need to have persistence and a strong will to compete.

We've heard from realtors that buyers are putting down tens of thousands of dollars in due diligence - that's money they may not get back. And that's on top of the big offers well over the asking price.

One $2.8 million North Raleigh home is the only listing Kimberly Conroy has left on the market right now.

"[Of] 22 of my sales, 15 went over list," Conroy said.

That's just in a six-month period.

"We started with $5,000 and then that didn’t work, and we have gone up in these huge increments along the way and now $50,000 is pretty much the base, the standard."

A new analysis from Zillow found 1.5 percent of last quarter's home sales in the Raleigh market went for 30 percent or more over the listing price. That tripled from the first quarter of 2021.

Moxie Real Estate owner Jennifer Wheeler has seen that first hand.

"An investor from California came in and purchased it, sight unseen, seeing no interior photos, as-is with no repairs for 20% over list price," she said.

So what's it take for a regular buyer who doesn't have deep pockets to compete in this market?

“This trend is starting to pick up to where we have these astronomically high sale prices over the original listing price and that is something that is continuing to trend up,” said Zillow Economic Data Analyst Nicole Bachaud. "It still is more affordable than a lot of the major markets in the country and it provides a lot of in-demand amenities that people are looking for right now."

“You need patience in this market. You need to stay determined. Have hope, but also realize your dreams will be crushed a few times,” said realtor Jason Dapkevich.