Although things have started to pick up in the last week or so, as both buyers and real estate agents, we can never have enough inventory!
If there aren’t enough homes on the market, it’s more difficult for someone to buy a new one, leaving them locked in to their current property, …One way that inventory will grow is if mortgage rates stay high enough for long enough and homes take longer to sell, but that still means it’s harder for buyers to afford homes in Whatcom Co.
What is “inventory”?. Housing inventory simply refers to the number of houses for sale. When fewer houses are available, buyers are willing to pay more (the good ‘ol supply and demand), so then sellers have more leverage which usually results in higher asking prices. So, low inventory leads to higher home prices. Obviously It’s a big reason (among many) why buying a home has gotten so expensive in the last few years.
When it comes to housing inventory for 2024, the number of homes on the market will still be low. An example: Total housing inventory in December 2023 was 4.9% higher than the year before, but it was 4.7% lower than November 2023 and still an incredible 36% lower than pre-COVID levels according to Realtor . com.
And even though plenty of new houses are being built, it’s not happening fast enough to make a major difference in overall housing inventory. In fact, the number permits issued for new builds was down 11.7% year-to-date in November 2023.8
There are a few options to help with the high interest rates, but we still need more inventory to even out the buyer/seller market equation .
Leave a Reply