The homebuying process can be scary for first-time and move-up buyers alike. Slightly more than half of Americans say they feel anxious thinking about the process of purchasing a property, according to a new survey from Ally Home. In fact, many consumers are more afraid of purchasing a home than dealing with their fear of commitment (89%), filing their tax returns (82%), having a tooth pulled (78%), or overcoming their fear of heights (75%), the survey found.

“Homes are a huge investment, so the purchasing process can feel daunting, especially for first-time buyers,” says Glenn Brunker, president of Ally Home. “From navigating fluctuations in home prices and mortgage rates to submitting an offer, there is a lot to juggle.”

Real estate professionals can help calm many of these fears for their clients. OJO Labs, a real estate company, surveyed 200 home buyers between July 2020 and July 2021 to learn the biggest fears among first-time and repeat buyers. Here’s an overview of what they found.

First-timers’ fears: “For first-time home buyers, financial-related fears made up four out of the top five fears,” the report from OJO Labs says. “Specifically, the fear of not being able to afford a mortgage and being too nervous to take a look at their own finances ranked as the second and third biggest fears.” First-time buyers also showed FOMO—fear of missing out—and worried that there could be better options they were missing out on.

Repeat buyers’ fears: Even home buyers who have previously gone through the process are still stressed about it. Repeat buyers’ biggest fear is that home prices will continue to rise, followed by a fear that inventory will continue to decline, according to the survey. FOMO also has them concerned.

In this hot market, many Americans are willing to overlook a few ghosts for the right home and list price. Nearly a third—or 30%—say they’d be willing to live with a “friendly” ghost, according to realtor.com®’s annual Halloween survey. Twenty percent say they would live in a home where a murder has taken place. “In today’s ultra-competitive housing market, buyers are looking for a break,” says Clare Trapasso, realtor.com®’s deputy news editor. “The majority are willing to consider homes that are rumored to be haunted, especially if they can get these properties at a discount.”

Sixty-three percent of respondents say they’d be willing to live in a haunted house at a discounted price. Most respondents say they would expect more than 20% off the market price for a haunted home. Sixty-nine percent say that if a murder has taken place in the home, they expect more than 10% shaved off the market price; nearly a quarter say they’d want a discount of more than 50%, the survey found.

Nearly three-fourths of respondents who believe they’ve lived in a haunted home before say they didn’t know until after they moved in, citing strange noises, an eerie feeling in certain rooms, shadows, odd pet behavior, items moving on their own, and hot or cold spots. Some respondents report ghost sightings (33%), lights turning on and off (31%), or levitating objects (12%).

“Home buyers who are concerned about a home’s past should be sure to ask questions and do some research before they buy a new house,” Trapasso says. “Only a few states require sellers to inform house hunters if someone died on the property. Some people who find themselves living in a home they believe to be haunted turn to specialists, like paranormal investigators, spiritual healers, and even church-sanctioned religious leaders.”

While many home buyers are still eager, some may have taken a break from what’s been a red-hot, competitive housing market. The National Association of REALTORS®’ Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator of home sales based on contract signings, decreased 2.3% in September from August, and pending home sales are down 8% compared to a year ago.

Still, NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index was at a 116.7 reading for September. An index reading of 100 is equal to the level of contract activity in 2001. Therefore, the housing market still remains on very solid ground.

“Contract transactions slowed a bit in September and are showing signs of a calmer home price trend, as the market is running comfortably ahead of pre-pandemic activity,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “It’s worth noting that there will be less inventory until the end of the year compared to the summer months, which happens nearly every year. Some potential buyers have momentarily paused their home search with intentions to resume in 2022.”

The number of homes for sale remains low. Yun expects inventory to turn a corner in 2022 as more listings to come onto the market. That could be welcome news to home buyers who, over the past year and a half, have encountered a historically low number of homes for sale.

An increase in housing inventory could also be a relief to renters. “Rents have been mounting solidly of late, with falling rental vacancy rates,” Yun says. “This could lead to more renters seeking homeownership in order to avoid the rising inflation, so an increase in inventory will be welcomed.”

Each of the four major U.S. regions saw contract activity decline month over month and year over year in September, NAR reports. The Northeast saw the largest yearly drop.

Housing Market Expectations for 2022

Even with limited housing inventory, housing has still posted strong sales this year. NAR forecasts home sales to rise by 6.4% for 2021. But due to higher anticipated mortgage rates—30-year rates are moving up from the sub-3% averages from earlier this year—NAR projects sales to decline by 1.7% in 2022 as some buyers get priced out.

NAR projects more tempered home prices in the new year. Home prices likely will moderate with a 2.8% growth in 2022, which would follow this year’s double-digit growth of 14.7%.

High lumber prices are returning, and home buyers should brace themselves for impact. The prices can have an effect on the cost of a new home as well as on decks and remodels.

Lumber prices had been falling this summer, but that appears to have been short-lived. In August, lumber prices had bottomed out, but framing lumber is now up by 40% since then.

Lumber prices still remain below the peak reached in May of about $1,515 per 1,000 feet. On Tuesday, lumber futures were trading for about $735.70 per 1,000 feet, more than double the prepandemic five-year average of around $356,  National Mortgage News reports.

But housing analysts warn that lumber prices aren’t finished climbing.

Lumber is critical for both the new-home construction process and remodeling. High lumber prices were being blamed for price increases in the new-home market. In May, builders reported that soaring lumber prices were adding $36,000, on average, to the price of a new home.

It looked like the new-home industry was going to catch a break this summer when lumber prices started to plummet. However, pent-up demand refueled the market and is leading to another round of price increases, Scott Reaves, director of forecast operations at Domain Timber Advisors, told Fortune. Also, supply shortages are pressing on prices.

“We expect the demand for lumber to continue increasing through 2022 and beyond in response to demographically driven housing needs, which will bode well for not only lumber mills but forestland owners,” Reaves said.

Housing demand has been on fire amid the pandemic, and home prices have skyrocketed in response. Many markets have seen double-digit percentage price growth since the pandemic began.

For example, in Rochester, N.Y., where home prices have been particularly volatile, the median sales price has surged by nearly 170% from September 2020 to September 2021.

The National Association of REALTORS® reports that the median existing-home price for all housing types in September was $352,800, a jump of 13.3% compared to September 2020.

Forbes.com recently identified the markets that have seen their home prices surge the most in 2021, culling housing data from Redfin. They factored in median sales price and year-over-year changes from September 2019 to 2020, inventory, months of homes supply, and the number of new listings. The following markets have posted the largest home price increases from 2019 to 2021.

Bellevue, Wash.

• Median sale price in September 2019: $887,500
• Median sale price in September 2020: $1.096 million
• Median sale price in 2021: $1.295 million

Fremont, Calif.

• Median sale price in September 2019: $992,500
• Median sale price in September 2020: $1.19 million
• Median sale price in September 2021: $1.35 million (a record high)

Scottsdale, Ariz.

• Median sale price in September 2019: $477,000
• Median sale price in September 2020: $582,500
• Median sale price in September 2021: $695,000

San Jose, Calif.

• Median sale price in September 2019: $946,000
• Median sale price in September 2020: $1.094 million
• Median sale price in September 2021: $1.24 million

Rochester, N.Y.

• Median sale price in September 2019: $167,950
• Median sale price in September 2020: $121,296
• Median sale price in September 2021: $285,000

Pembroke Pines, Fla.

• Median sale price in September 2019: $265,000
• Median sale price in September 2020: $324,450
• Median sale price in September 2021: $395,750

Glendale, Calif.

• Median sale price in September 2019: $810,000
• Median sale price in September 2020: $936,000
• Median sale price in September 2021: $1.05 million

Worcester, Mass.

• Median sale price in September 2019: $252,500
• Median sale price in September 2020: $315,000
• Median sale price in September 2021: $370,000

Boise, Idaho

• Median sale price in September 2019: $326,500
• Median sale price in September 2020: $387,270
• Median sale price in September 2021: $480,000

Palmdale, Calif.

• Median sale price in September 2019: $333,000
• Median sale price in September 2020: $410,000
• Median sale price in September 2021: $470,000

View the full list at Forbes.com.

Home building has ramped up over the last decade and notably accelerated sharply in 2020 during the pandemic, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Builders applied for 134% more single-family permits in 2020 compared to 2011. Permits are used as a gauge to measure future construction. Multifamily construction permits are 139% higher in that period.

Construction has increased the most in Texas, which nabs the top spot for activity with three out of the five largest single-family markets for housing permits.

The National Association of Home Builders identified the following markets as seeing the fastest growth in construction based on single-family permit growth from 2011 to 2020:

• Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas: 363,067 (total single-family permits from 2011-2020)
• Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas: 292,219
• Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Ga.: 196,745
• Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz.: 179,479
• Austin-Round Rock, Texas: 135,181
• Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, N.C.-S.C.: 129,832
• Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W. Va.: 127,967
• Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Fla.: 118,372
• Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tenn.: 108,311
• Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.: 103,117
• New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa.: 97,224

The top three markets for multifamily permits between 2011 and 2020 have been in New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa.; Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas; and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif.

Homes are still selling at a quick pace, but the number of bidding wars for individual listings is on the decline this fall.

Only 58.9% of home offers faced competition in September, the lowest level for 2021 so far, according to a market index produced by Redfin based on offers written by its agents. That’s down from a peak of 74.3% in April. September also marked the fifth consecutive month of declines in bidding wars.

“It’s typical to see a decline in competition as families head back to school and the weather cools down,” says Taylor Marr, Redfin’s deputy chief economist. “Buyers also aren’t having to offer as much above the asking price as they were in the spring, when competition in the housing market was peaking. As mortgage rates continue to rise, we can expect bidding wars to keep slowing.”

Still, homes are selling quickly: Eighty-six percent of homes sold in September were on the market for less than a month, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ latest housing report. About 33% of homes that went under contract had an accepted offer within just one week of being listed on the market, up from 30% a year ago and 20% in 2019, according to Redfin data. Forty-five percent of homes sold at or above list price, up from 22% in 2019.

Where Competition Is Highest

The highest bidding war rate of 45 metro areas tracked was in the following areas, according to Redfin’s index:

• Raleigh, N.C.: 73.9% of agent offers written reported competition
• Boston: 71.7%
• Indianapolis: 71.4%
• Sacramento, Calif.: 70.5%
• San Diego: 70.3%
• Tucson, Ariz.: 70%
• Cincinnati: 69.6%
• San Francisco/San Jose, Calif.: 69.4%
• Philadelphia.: 66.3%
• Colorado Springs, Colo.: 64.3%