TALK ABOUT MIXED BLESSINGS: The Covid Lockdown led to millions of Americans discovering how great working from home can be. No more hour-long commutes, more time with family and friends, etc. But there is another side to it, according to Ashe Short:

“Potential buyers are sometimes offering hundreds of thousands of dollars above the asking price of a home and offering to waive inspections, only to have their offers declined. Buyers are losing out to cash offers or in insanely competitive bidding wars. Because of demand, 50 percent of the homes sold in July were on the market for 17 days or fewer, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported.

“Limited housing supply is due to many reasons, including supply chain disruption, the increased price of lumber, housing regulations, lack of labor, and demand going up as more people realize they can move and work remotely. Another widely reported issue with the market comes from large businesses buying properties to rent and pushing out buyers with more modest budgets.”

Ashe and her husband have a happy ending to their search for a new home they could customize on a lot of their choice, but most others don’t. Like the adage goes, things that can’t continue, won’t.