'It's just draining': Homebuyers frustrated by a cutthroat housing market are putting their searches on hold

• The share of respondents who believe it is a bad time to buy rose to 66% in September, up from 38% a year earlier.
• The median existing-home price reached $352,800 last month, up 13% from a year earlier.

Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier version of this story misstated the width of Amber Otto's computer monitors.

Amber Otto hadn’t considered buying a home with any urgency until the pandemic forced her to start working out of her 630-square-foot apartment in Seattle last year.

In the last 18 months, she’s seen more than 50 homes in the $300,000 range, made offers above asking price on four of them and been shut out of several more as bidding wars drove prices out of reach.

Then there was the accepted contract that fell through two weeks before closing day.

The 37-year-old Seattle resident has now decided to put her frenetic search for a home on hold and renew her apartment lease.