It is a frustrating experience. My market is starting to develop into this, in large part because of Seattle buyers flooding inland. That said, it is better than some of the alternatives. There are other highly-competitive markets where houses just never come on the market - instead they get sold in pocket listings and the only way to buy a house is to canvas a neighborhood or be in tight with an agent who is farming neighborhoods. It's ideal if houses actually come to market, the market can decide the value, and it's supply / demand that is making it possible for houses to be sold on such a short time-table. It's a better dynamic all around though than having houses sit, potentially vacant, for months and months and/or increasing the challenges where buyers want to move and may even have a house under offer but can't get their current house sold. Liquidity in the housing market is ultimately a good thing for buyers and sellers.
Agreed. Liquidity is good. The pocket listings may not be optimizing price for the seller, though they may minimize hassle.
It seems like it is healthiest for homes to be on the market for about two weeks. Part of the trouble with short-duration listings is that it is a high-stakes version of the optimal-stopping problem. I think a little more holistic visibility into the market's offerings might yield better matches between buyers and homes.
Choosing an abode for the next few decades amidst weekly auto-escalation bidding wars just doesn't seem healthy for the future dwellers.
