The 39 States With Homebuyers Who Take the Most Financial Risks

Thanks to the severe inventory shortage plaguing the nation, the housing market still favors sellers and is putting buyers at a financial disadvantage. Not only is purchasing a home wildly expensive, it’s complicated and increasingly competitive.

With so many people looking to buy homes and so few homes on the market, it’s not uncommon to see a flood of offers come in on a single property, sparking  a fierce bidding war. To “win,” some prospective buyers are taking on big financial risks, such as bypassing appraisals and even waiving the home inspection.

To find out which state residents exhibit the riskiest behavior when it comes to buying homes, Repair Pricer surveyed 3,131 American adults across the country and asked them to disclose their risk tolerance in home buying on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 representing the least risk and 5 representing the most risk. Next, Repair Pricer calculated the average risk in every state except Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming, due to not enough responses.

These are the 39 states with the riskiest homebuyers, ranked in order from least to most risky.

• Risk score: 2.17

• Risk score: 2.19

• Risk score: 2.20

• Risk score: 2.24

• Risk score: 2.33

• Risk score: 2.36

• Risk score: 2.37

• Risk score: 2.38

• Risk score: 2.38

• Risk score: 2.38

• Risk score: 2.40

• Risk score: 2.41

• Risk score: 2.42

• Risk score: 2.42

• Risk score: 2.42

• Risk score: 2.46

• Risk score: 2.49

• Risk score: 2.50

• Risk score: 2.50

• Risk score: 2.51

• Risk score: 2.52

• Risk score: 2.54

• Risk score: 2.55

• Risk score: 2.56

• Risk score: 2.57

• Risk score: 2.57

• Risk score: 2.58

• Risk score: 2.58

• Risk score: 2.59

• Risk score: 2.60 

• Risk score: 2.61

• Risk score: 2.63

• Risk score: 2.63

• Risk score: 2.66

• Risk score: 2.73

• Risk score: 2.74

• Risk score: 2.79

• Risk score: 2.82

• Risk score: 2.84