By using online real estate websites, homebuyers are trusting their online purchases much more now than before. In a study conducted in November and December 2017 with a sample size of about 1,500 people, Redfin reported that 35 percent of homebuyers across the nation made an offer on a home without first seeing it in person. This is up from May 2017’s numbers of 33 percent and June 2016’s numbers of 19 percent.
Millennial homebuyers were the most likely to make an offer sight-unseen, according to Redfin. 45 percent of millennial homebuyers made an offer to buy a home without seeing it in person, compared with 28 percent of those who are Gen X and 6 percent of Baby Boomers.
For those in the nation’s capital, 32 percent of homebuyers in D.C. made an offer on a home without seeing it in person. Out of the U.S. metropolitan areas studied by Redfin, the city with the most sight-unseen offers was Los Angeles with 57 percent, while the city with the fewest was Seattle with 19 percent.
• 1 in 3 DC-area homebuyers made sight-unseen offer last year [WTOP]
• Sight-Unseen in 2017: 35% of Homebuyers Bid on a Home Before Seeing it in Person [Redfin]