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Is the Number of Homes for Sale Finally Growing? – Christophe Choo at Coldwell Banker Global Luxury is Your Local Real Estate Expert.

Is the Number of Homes for Sale Finally Growing? – Christophe Choo at Coldwell Banker Global Luxury is Your Local Real Estate Expert.

By AgentImage Posted Sep 16, 2021 Beverly Hills, In The Press, Latest Updates, Market Activity, Real Estate Articles, Real Estate News, Shared Recommended Articles, What I'm Reading

An important metric in todayā€™s residential real estate market is the number of homes available for sale. The shortage of availableĀ housing inventoryĀ is the major reason for the double-digit price appreciation weā€™ve seen in each of the last two years. Itā€™s the reason many would-be purchasers are frustrated with the bidding wars over the homes that are available. However, signs of relief are finally appearing.

According toĀ dataĀ fromĀ realtor.com, active listings have increased over the last four months. They define active listings as:

ā€œThe active listing count tracks the number of for sale properties on the market, excluding pending listings where a pending status is available. This is a snapshot measure of how many active listings can be expected on any given day of the specified month.ā€

What normally happens throughout the year?

Historically, housing inventory increases throughout the summer months, starts to tail off in the fall, and then drops significantly over the winter. The graph below shows this trend along with the month active listings peaked in 2017, 2018, and 2019.Is the Number of Homes for Sale Finally Growing? | MyKCM

What happened last year?

Last year, the trend was different. Historical seasonality wasnā€™t repeated in 2020 since many homeowners held off on putting their houses up for sale because of the pandemic (see graph below). In 2020, active listings peaked in April, and then fell off dramatically for the remainder of the year.Is the Number of Homes for Sale Finally Growing? | MyKCM

Whatā€™s happening this year?

Due to the decline of active listings in 2020, 2021 began with record-low housing inventory counts. However, weā€™ve been building inventory over the last several months as more listings come to the market (see graph below):Is the Number of Homes for Sale Finally Growing? | MyKCMThere are three main reasons we may see listings continue to increase throughout this fall and into the winter.

  1. Pent-up selling demandĀ ā€“ Homeowners may be more comfortable putting their homes on the market as more and more Americans get vaccinated.
  2. New construction is starting to take offĀ ā€“ Though new construction is not included in theĀ realtor.comĀ numbers, as more new homes are built, there will be more options for current homeowners to consider when they sell. The lack of options has slowed many potential sellers in the past.
  3. The end of forbearance will create some new listingsĀ ā€“ Most experts believe the end of the forbearance program will not lead to a wave of foreclosuresĀ for several reasons. TheĀ main reasonĀ is the level of equity homeowners currently have in their homes. Many homeowners will be able to sell their homes instead of going to foreclosure, which will lead to some additional listings on the market.

Bottom Line

If youā€™re in the market to buy a home,Ā stick with it. There are new listings becoming available every day. If youā€™re thinking of selling your house, you may want to list your home before this additional competition comes to market.

Call Christophe Choo at 310.777.6342

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