As per Statista, the average sales price of new homes in the United States was $512,200 in 2024, down slightly from a peak of $521,500 back in 2022. There are a few main factors behind the massive growth in property prices over the past few years: Increased demand during the pandemic and previously low mortgage rates spiked prices. However, now there’s an issue with rising mortgage rates and decreased affordability, leading to a market that’s slowing down.
According to the Housing Affordability Index in 2023, the median-income US family could no longer afford a median-priced home. Statista notes that despite the recent cooling of the market, it may recover in the coming years. It’s likely that “affordability challenges may persist in the near future.”
Statista reports that the real estate market in the United States is expected to reach a jaw-dropping $136.62 trillion (that’s ‘trillion’ with a ‘t,’ yes) by 2025, and a whopping $155.60 trillion by 2029. There’s been a particular surge in demand for suburban homes due to the shift toward remote work.
With homes so expensive these days, it’s no wonder that many people and families decide to rent. However, if you live alone, you may be paying a massive premium for this luxury depending on the city.
CNN states that the average single person living in New York City pays around $20,100 extra in rent per year. Meanwhile, couples living in one-bedroom apartments in NYC save an average of $40,200 on rent per year.
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When you’re competing against so many other properties, you have to look for ways to stand out from the crowd. The go-to approach is to take high-quality photos with good lighting, from great angles, in order to make the home shine and pop in customers’ digital feeds.
Meanwhile, the home itself can be a source of originality if it has unusual features or a particularly peculiar design. Though this can be a bit of a double-edged sword because homes that are too quirky might push some prospective clients away while simultaneously pulling others in.
A while back, Bored Panda covered a fabulous Zillow listing where the photos had Bigfoot going about its daily life. It went massively viral online.
“During our initial photoshoot, the Bigfoot idea popped into my mind. The sellers immediately supported the idea, and we all hoped that it would bring a bit of levity to people on their home buying adventure,” Daniel Oster, the listing agent, told us in a previous interview.
“A lot of folks are under a lot of stress now, and we were hoping to lighten people’s day and make them smile. At the same time, hoping to spread awareness of their home for sale. And that does indeed seem to be happening. We’ve had an overwhelming amount of interest in folks calling to schedule appointments to see the property. And, we are anticipating offers soon,” Oster told Bored Panda at the time.
According to the listing agent, high-end photography and targeted marketing approaches usually work.
However, the right combination of the property, the timing, and the Bigfoot idea helped the listing go viral. “I don’t anticipate doing this approach again because it could be overused. But it’s been a great success so far, and I love getting to use a bit of humor to market the property.”
