The inventory crunch in real estate is prompting some home buyers to camp out overnight and wait in long lines for a chance to purchase a house in some areas. Camping out to buy a new home has particularly been rising in Sun Belt areas like Phoenix and Las Vegas.
In Mesa, Ariz., for example, more than a dozen people recently camped out for days to be one of the first to get to buy 30 houses in a new community called Mulberry, which had homes starting in the low $200,000s (the median price of a new home in the area is $300,000). Buyers said they were willing to camp out because they wanted to have a chance to get some of the best lots and be one of the first to snag a home in these communities before prices rose more.
The lines can be long, though. In January, more than 250 people reportedly camped out in metro Phoenix to buy a house in a development called Victory at Verrado.
“How great for the housing market to see folks willing to camp out to buy new Valley homes again,” Arizona housing analyst Greg Burger of RL Brown Reports told the Arizona Republic.
Source: “It’s Become ‘Camp’ Again to Line Up for New Homes in Valley,” The Arizona Republic (March 6, 2015)
