There aren’t enough homes on the market in many parts of the country to satisfy potential buyers, and many of the homes that are available need work.
There are now 12 percent more fixer-uppers on the market than there were five years ago, according to a new Zillow analysis. That’s because rising home prices and weak inventory are prompting more homeowners to list their properties without making repairs before selling them.
“Sellers are in the driver’s seat, with the freedom to list their home for sale ‘as-is’ without worrying about price cuts or the home sitting on the market,” Zillow chief economist Svenja Gudell said in a statement. “And without sufficient new construction, the housing stock has aged, so home buyers are finding more and more homes on the market in need of a little TLC.”
Related; 14 Cities With Big Discounts on Fixer-Upper Homes
The trend is more apparent among the most expensive homes, where the percentage of fixer-uppers on the market increased by 35 percent from 2011 through 2015, compared to just a 2.6 percent increase at the low end of the market.
The Zillow study looked at homes with listings that used words that might indicate fixer-uppers, such as “fixer upper,” “TLC,” and “needs work.”
The age of homes for sale has also increased dramatically, more than doubling over the past decade. In 2006, homes for sale had a median age of 15 years, while last year the median age of homes for sale was 28.
