The typical American home buyer now submits two separate offers before finally getting a contract accepted, and the properties they’re bidding on are fielding an average of 2.2 offers apiece, according to fresh data from the National Association of Realtors and Zillow’s research team.
The numbers put real figures behind what agents around the country have been describing anecdotally for months: buying a home in 2026 is rarely a one-and-done process, even in a market that has cooled considerably from the frenzy of 2021 and 2022.
How Many Offers It Actually Takes
Zillow’s Consumer Housing Trends Report found that the typical buyer submits two offers before winning a home, up from just one offer during the 2018-2020 period. More than half of recent buyers, 54%, made two or more offers, while only 38% got their home on the first try. First-time buyers had it tougher: about 59% needed at least two offers, compared with 48% of repeat buyers who already had equity and experience on their side.
The home-touring side of the equation looks more modest than some buyers might expect. Zillow’s data shows the typical buyer goes on two in-person private tours, takes one virtual tour, and attends one open house before making an offer. Only 11% of buyers skip private tours altogether, relying instead on photos and video.
Nearly Every Home Still Has Competition
On the seller’s side of the transaction, the National Association of Realtors’ Realtors Confidence Index survey for December 2025 found that the average home that sold received 2.2 offers, a figure that has held roughly steady month to month. That same survey found that 16% of properties sold above their list price in December, down slightly from 18% the month before but essentially flat compared with a year earlier.
Put together, the data means a buyer who writes a single offer at asking price is, more often than not, competing against at least one other bidder for the same house.
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A Long Search Before Any Offer Goes In
Buyers aren’t rushing into those offers, either. The 2025 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers found that the median home search stretched across 10 weeks, a figure that has held steady in recent years even as inventory has shifted in some regions.
Taken together, the picture is one of a market that no longer moves at the breakneck pace of the pandemic years, but still hasn’t handed buyers the easy leverage many expected once mortgage rates climbed. Homes are sitting on the market a bit longer and fewer of them are drawing bidding wars than in 2022, but the buyer who wants a specific house in a desirable area should still expect to lose at least once before they win.
For house hunters, the practical takeaway is straightforward: budgeting for a second or even third offer, rather than assuming the first one will stick, is now closer to the norm than the exception.
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