From the New York Times, I'm Sabrina Tavernisi. This is the Daily.

After more than two years of enormous demand, limited supply and increasing prices, many

Americans have found themselves unable to buy a home. A problem that is expected to deepen

as mortgage rates surge. Today, Francesca Mari, a contributing writer at the New York

Times magazine, tells the story of Americans caught in the middle of the pandemic real estate

boom. It's Tuesday, June 21st.

For the past few years, I've been reporting on housing. And during the pandemic, I started

noticing something. The housing market had gone absolutely bananas.

Some big numbers coming out of the housing market today and they're not looking pretty

if you're looking to buy or rent. The housing market, that is booming.

In the month of July, home sold at the fastest pace in history.

Starting in 2020, houses started selling at a faster pace.

They're selling at the fastest rate since December of 2006, taking just nine days on average

in Philadelphia. The price of homes across the country were skyrocketing. Up more than 19%

in the last year. In shatterin' previous housing records. To the highest level, since

the realtors began tracking this in 2001, up 24. And as I watched all this unfold, I started

to think not just about what was happening in this chaotic housing market. There's low

inventory, sky high prices, and bidding wars. Housing market, hunger games about to get

more expensive for the millions of us looking to buy a new home. But also, what was happening

to people who were having to participate in it. Buyers are gifting a trip to the Caribbean,

promising to name their firstborn child after the seller, or offering $100,000 in cash over

the asking price, just to secure a home. So I started talking to brokers and buyers

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