Thirty-five percent of home buyers who purchased a home in November and December said they made an offer on the home without seeing it first in person, according to a newly released survey of more than 1,500 home purchasers conducted by the real estate brokerage Redfin. That is up from 33 percent in May 2017 and from 19 percent in June 2016.
By age group, millennial home buyers are the most likely to make an offer on a home without visiting it first, at 45 percent, researchers found. Younger adults may be more comfortable with relying on information they find online about properties for sale and the neighborhoods, researchers note.
For buyers who can’t see the property in person first, some real estate professionals are relying on FaceTime video call tours or 3-D virtual tour programs to give them a better idea of the interiors.
Source: “Sight-Unseen in 2017: 35% of Homebuyers Bid on a Home Before Seeing it in Person,” Redfin (Feb. 26, 2018)