Do you still believe that we are stuck in a never-ending housing bust? With the sellers market where it is home prices will continue to drop and the foreclosure crisis will drag down the American economy? Did you think I was nuts when I predicted a new seller’s market earlier this year?
Don’t believe any doomsday experts! The latest housing stats prove them wrong.
The real estate market has bottomed out half a year ago. Over the past 6 months the real estate market in Columbus, and throughout the rest of the Country, has been improving significantly.
Last Friday USA Today reported that a Seller’s Market has returned to some US Cities as the number of homes for sale has dropped significantly. Nationwide, the supply of homes for sale has reached 6.6 months. This means that the current inventory of homes will sell in 6.6 months at the current monthly sales rate.
The supply is down from 9.1 months a year ago.
In some cities the supply has shrunk to only 3 months. Real estate agents receive multiple offers on most homes listed for sale.
10% Increase in Home Sales and Prices
On top of it, the number of homes sold every month has steadily increased for half a year. April home sales were up by 10% (as compared to a year ago), and the median home price has increased by 10.1% year-over-year.
Buyers Complain About a Housing Shortage
I am representing many buyers. They are getting frustrated with the low inventory and the limited selection of homes for sale. If you are looking for specific features in your home, they may be hard to find.
You may as well go to a builder and buy a new home. This is a good strategy. Builders are hurting. They still offer free upgrades on new homes. So, you may want to consider this route, if you can’t find what your are looking for.
Why Do Some Listings Sell Slowly?
While buyers are getting desperate, so do sellers. I have listed a number of very nice homes since the beginning of the year and I noticed that buyers are reluctant to write an offer.
This is certainly bothering my customers who want to sell their home quickly. Most prospective buyers like these homes, but they hesitate to make an offer.
You probably wonder, why don’t buyers and seller don’t come together? They both want to do the transaction?
Let me explain why we are not in a Sellers Market, yet. But we are certainly getting close.
The Lack of Distressed Properties
First off, the low inventory is due to the lack of new foreclosure listings. The number of HUD homes for sale as well as other bank-owned houses has dropped by more 75% in Columbus from a year ago.
A few new foreclosure listings are trickling in every month. But buyer demand usually outpaces them.
There’s no sign of the shadow inventory of bank and government owned properties that, according to experts, will flood the market.
Zillow reports that a lack of lower-priced homes is the main reason for the low inventory. The percentage of homes for sale by regular home owners is on the rise. These home owners cannot and will not accept large discounts. Some of them may be “underwater” with their mortgages, but most just don’t want to “give away the farm.”
Home Buyers Demand Discounts
At the same time home buyers want bargains. They are still conditioned by media reports that we are in a down sellers market. They submit sharply discounted purchase offers, which do not get accepted by most sellers.
That’s why homes listed at market value attract less interest from buyers. Many home buyers spend considerable time searching for REOs and HUD homes in hopes of getting a huge discount instead of submitting a reasonable offer on a retail sale.
I work with quite a few of these house hunters. They keep searching and searching, and submit low-ball offers on perfectly good properteis. Most of the time they lose out on quality homes, because they are outbid by other buyers. They lose time, as they have to regroup after every rejected offer and have to start from scratch.
After losing 2 or 3 homes to other buyers, they realize that the game has changed. Quality homes that are competitively priced sell for list price or more. This is the time when they finally decide to go with the flow and submit offers to win.
On the Verge of a Sellers Market
Many home buyers believe that they deserve a discount. It will take a few months for them to realize that discounts are hard to get in a competitive market. Soon they will realize, however, that the time to buy is NOW, before the inventory shrinks and prices go up.
That’s when we will hit the sellers market.
As home prices rise, new sellers will list their homes to take advantage of increased buyer demand.
If you are currently listing a home, don’t get to impatient. You may not get any offers and don’t have too many showings.Once buyers realize there is a limit on the choice, things will begin to change.
For home buyers I recommend that you submit realistic offers.
Call me! I can help you develop a winning bidding strategy. Now is still a good time to grab some of the remaining deals. You have to hurry, though. The competition is heating up for a shrinking inventory of homes for sale.