Not Enough Homes To Sell

Despite the housing bust and high foreclosure rates, in some areas real estate agents are complaining that they don’t have enough homes to sell. There is currently an eight-month supply of homes on the market — meaning that, at the current sales pace, it would take eight months to run through the backlog. That’s still a lot compared to the six-month supply that is expected in a normal market, but it is much better than it was. In Denver, Phoenix and San Francisco they are even bidding-war tight. In California, almost all cities have a short supply of single-family homes. That’s especially true in the lower-priced categories, according to Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist for the California Association of Realtor. There are plenty of more expensive homes in California, but this inventory is going quick: inventory for million-dollar-plus homes has dropped from 21.6 months to 10.9 months.

Ordinarily, rising prices are an indication of shrinking inventory. But these are far from ordinary times. Never have there been so many properties that could be for sale — but aren’t. This so-called “shadow inventory” comes from two main sources: properties lenders have not yet repossessed or have not yet put back on the market; and homeowners who want to sell but who have refrained because of low prices. Lenders are also holding back on foreclosing at all, either because they’re having trouble handling the volume of repossessions or because they want to sell off some of the inventory they already have. Zillow.com surveys estimate that 8% of homeowners are very likely to try to sell their homes in the next twelve months if they see signs of improvement in their local markets.

Let this be the early warning for all you home owners sitting on the fence waiting to sell their home. Now might be the time get your home in top shape and ready to sell. If your looking for a real estate marketing expert that will guarantee maximum exposure, than you need to contact me now so your not playing catch up. Call me at 253-209-9701 and I can consult you on what you need to do get you home or real estate ready to sell fast.

NorthWest Real Estate