Where Have All the Houses Gone?

<article class="post-2025 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry" id="post-2025"><span class="entry-date">February 22, 2021</span><div class="entry-header center-block text-center"><h1 class="entry-title">Where Have All the Houses Gone?</h1><div class="shareBlock"><div class="shareTitle">Share</div><div class="shareIcons"><a aria-label="Twitter Share Link" class="twitter solid display-inline-block" data-tracking="Post,Social Post Link Clicked,Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/share?text=Where+Have+All+the+Houses+Gone%3F&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fgilliggroup.com%2Fblog%2Fwhere-have-all-the-houses-gone%2F" target="_blank"><span class="force-hidden">Twitter</span></a>
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<p><img alt="Where Have All the Houses Gone? | Simplifying The Market" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" decoding="async" link_thumbnail="" loading="lazy" sizes="auto, (max-width: 549px) 100vw, 549px" src="https://files.simplifyingthemarket.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/18151922/20210222-KCM-Share-549×300.jpg" srcset="https://files.simplifyingthemarket.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/18151922/20210222-KCM-Share-549×300.jpg 549w, https://files.simplifyingthemarket.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/18151922/20210222-KCM-Share.jpg 750w" style="display: block; margin-bottom: 5px; clear:both;max-width: 100%;" width="358"/></p>
<p>In today’s housing market, it seems harder than ever to find a home to buy. Before the health crisis hit us a year ago, there was already a shortage of homes for sale. When many homeowners delayed their plans to sell at the same time that more buyers aimed to take advantage of record-low mortgage rates and purchase a home, housing inventory dropped even further. Experts consider this to be the biggest challenge facing an otherwise hot market while buyers continue to compete for homes. As Danielle Hale, <em>Chief Economist </em>at <em>realtor.com</em>, <a href="https://www.realtor.com/research/weekly-housing-trends-view-data-week-feb-6-2021/">explains</a>:<span id="more-43899"></span></p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>“With buyers active in the market and seller participation lagging, <strong>homes are selling quickly and</strong> <strong>the total number available for sale at any point in time continues to drop lower</strong>. In <strong>January</strong> as a whole, the number of for sale homes <strong>dropped below 600,000</strong>.” </em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Every month, <em>realtor.com</em> releases new <a href="https://www.realtor.com/research/data/">data</a> showing the year-over-year change in inventory of existing homes for sale. As you can see in the map below, nationwide, inventory is 42.6% lower than it was at this time last year:<a href="https://files.simplifyingthemarket.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/18151920/20210222-MEM-Eng-1.jpg"><img alt="Where Have All the Houses Gone? | Simplifying The Market" class="aligncenter wp-image-43901" decoding="async" height="488" loading="lazy" sizes="auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px" src="https://files.simplifyingthemarket.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/18151920/20210222-MEM-Eng-1.jpg" srcset="https://files.simplifyingthemarket.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/18151920/20210222-MEM-Eng-1.jpg 1000w, https://files.simplifyingthemarket.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/18151920/20210222-MEM-Eng-1-400×300.jpg 400w" width="650"/></a></p>
<h4><strong>Does this mean houses aren’t being put on the market for sale?</strong></h4>
<p>Not exactly. While there are fewer existing homes being listed right now, many homes are simply selling faster than they’re being counted as current inventory. The market is that competitive! It’s like when everyone was trying to find toilet paper to buy last spring and it was flying off the shelves faster than it could be stocked in the stores. That’s what’s happening in the housing market: homes are being listed for sale, but not at a rate that can keep up with heavy demand from competitive buyers.</p>
<p>In the same <em>realtor.com </em>report, Hale explains:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>“<strong>Time on the market was 10 days faster than last year</strong> meaning that buyers still have to make decisions quickly in order to be successful. Today’s buyers have many tools to help them do that, including the ability to be notified as soon as homes meeting their search criteria hit the market. By tailoring search and notifications to the homes that are a solid match, buyers can act quickly and compete successfully in this faster-paced housing market.”</em></p>
</blockquote>
<h4><strong>The Good News for Homeowners</strong></h4>
<p>The health crisis has been a major reason why potential sellers have held off this long, but as vaccines become more widely available, homeowners will start making their moves. Ali Wolf, <em>Chief Economist </em>at <em>Zonda</em>, <a href="https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/vaccines-housing-market/">confirms</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>“Some people will feel comfortable listing their home during the first half of 2021. Others will want to wait until the vaccines are widely distributed.”</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>With more homeowners getting ready to sell later this year, putting your house on the market sooner rather than later is the best way to make sure your listing shines brighter than the rest.</p>
<p>When you’re ready to sell your house, you’ll likely want it to sell as quickly as possible, for the best price, and with little to no hassle. If you’re looking for these selling conditions, you’ll find them in today’s market. When demand is high and inventory is low, <a href="https://www.simplifyingthemarket.com/2020/12/10/why-it-makes-sense-to-sell-your-house-this-holiday-season/?a=712984-fa409495d5d70154d03a25e81e9540e2">sellers</a> have the ability to create optimal terms and timelines for the sale, making now an exceptional time to move.</p>
<h3><strong>Bottom Line</strong></h3>
<p>Today’s housing market is a big win for sellers, but these conditions won’t last forever. If you’re in a position to sell your house now, you may not want to wait for your neighbors to do the same. Let’s connect to discuss how to sell your house <a href="https://www.simplifyingthemarket.com/2020/11/13/tips-to-sell-your-house-safely-right-now-infographic/?a=712984-fa409495d5d70154d03a25e81e9540e2">safely</a> so you’re able to benefit from today’s high demand and low inventory.</p>
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