The Current Market is a Seller Sweet Spot

One of the biggest challenges in the real estate market right now is (once again) how few homes there are for sale in comparison to the number of people who want to buy them! According to a recent report, active inventory in June was on average 50.6% below pre-pandemic 2017–2019 levels.

There continues to be an ongoing lack of homes for sale as potential sellers with near-record equity take a wait-and-see approach, leaving buyers to compete over the remaining available homes for sale. In June, the growth in the number of active homes for sale slowed for the fourth month in a row, and growth stalled completely in the final week of June.

New listings to the market have also been scarce this year – the pace of new listings year-to-date is even lower than in the first half of 2020, when the real estate market was still contending with pandemic-era closures, restrictions, and uncertainties – highlighting just how short on options buyers are in today's market.

To help paint a picture of just how limited housing inventory remains, let’s take a look at the latest information:

This graph uses historical data to showcase how the current numbers continue to lag behind the inventory levels typically seen in a balanced market. It’s worth noting that 2020-2022 aren't included -- they were truly abnormal, 'unicorn' years for the housing market which we touched on last month. In order to make a fair comparison and accurately reflect the whole picture, they've been omitted.

When you compare the orange bars for 2023 with the last normal years for the housing market (2017-2019), you can see the count of active listings is still far below the norm.

So what does all of this mean for you? Well, if *you've* been stuck in wait-and-see mode but wanting to sell your house, the current low inventory makes this a great time to do so! Prospective buyers in the marketplace right now are serious buyers, but they have fewer choices -- which means your home will stand out even more and be in the spotlight.