One of the biggestbright spotsin todayshousing marketis how much the supply of homes for sale has grown since the beginning of this year.
Recent datafromRealtor.comshows that nationally, there are 36.6% more homes actively for sale now compared to the same time last year. Thats a significant improvement. It gives you far more options for your move than you wouldve had just a year ago. And with supply improving, youre also regaining a bit ofnegotiation power. So, if youve thought aboutbuying a homeover the last few years but were discouraged by how limited inventory was, this should be welcome news.
As Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at theNational Association of Realtors,said:
Increased housing supply spells good news for consumers who want to see more properties before making purchasing decisions.
But just so you have perspective, even though inventory has grown, that doesnt mean weve suddenly flipped to anoversupplyof homes on the market. There are nowhere near enough homes for sale to makeprices crash. If you compare todays inventory levels to more normal, pre-pandemic numbers (20172019), there are still roughly 29% fewer homes actively for sale now (see graph below):
So, while were up by almost 37% year-over-year, were still not back to how much inventory thered be in a normal market.
As Bill McBride, Housing Analyst forCalculated Risk,explains:
. . . currently inventory is increasing year-over-year but is still well below pre-pandemic levels.
But thats okay. Its to be expected. As a country, it will take a while to get back to a typical level of homes for sale. But the most important part is that we are going in the right direction. The good news for buyers is that in some select markets, its closer to being a reality.
Heres a rundown of what todays inventory growth looks like by region (see graph below):
Real estate will always be hyper-local. If you want to find out what inventory numbers look like where you live, reach out to alocal agent. Theyll be able to tell you what theyre seeing and how it stacks up to the national market. You may find you have evenmore opportunitiesto move where you are.
Bottom Line
The supply of homes across the country is improving in a big way. As a buyer, that gives you more options for your home search and ultimately a better chance of finding what you like. So, what are you looking for in a home?
