We are watching what all the experts are revealing….
Danielle Hale, Chief Economist of Realtor.com observes ~
“We’re not seeing as many new listings come up on the market…It was only 18 months ago that the number of homes for sale hit its lowest level in recorded history and sparked the fiercest competition among buyers we’ve ever seen.”
Why aren’t we seeing more resale homes going up for sale? There are certainly plenty of willing and eager buyers that should be inspiring current homeowners to feel good about selling. People seeking to buy a home are thronging the marketplace all up and down the Front Range. They want to purchase a house! They’ve talked to lenders, they’ve gotten approval, saved the down payment, are prepared to pay their closing costs – yet potential homebuyers are being left high and dry nursing frustrations in far too many instances; but why?
We know that real estate is a cyclical industry. It’s up, it’s down, it’s doing dizzy twirls and where it stops – is when it moves into the next natural cycle. Based on supply, demand, the economy, people’s ideas about the economy, population, location, where the industry is booming, where the jobs are – these are the things that grease the engine of the real estate cycles.
Two things are absolute certainties we can all count on:
Real estate will cycle up and cycle down and cycle up and cycle down and seldom “settle” into any steady rhythm for any predictable length of time.
People will move, buy new houses, sell houses and move again.
Right now, the only actual challenge to be overcome has to do with more people wanting to move into a home than there are homes available to be moved into. The opposite was true in the early 2000’s and it is unlikely any lingering concerns from that cycle are directly affecting this cycle.
In fact, 8,589 homes were made available for sale in the Colorado front range area this past August, and 6,891 were bought and closed! August 2018 saw 7,204 bought and closed. With the average sales price then of $490,670 and the average sale price now of $505,980, we can presume that price isn’t the prevalent factor. In fact, most real estate trend-watchers insist the sales numbers themselves would be higher if only inventory weren’t so low!
Mark Fleming, Chief Economist of First American observes ~
“Market conditions are ripe for increasing home sales with one glaring exception. The supply of homes for sale remains tight, keeping existing home sales below potential.”
Can it possibly be that everyone is so content with their current living space they just have no interest in moving? Is it the lack of inventory for a move-up home purchase that’s holding people back? Strong job markets, healthy economic forecasts, higher equity earnings, and historic low mortgage interest rates all add up to a great time to make your move. To that end, if you have been on the fence about selling, I would be happy to assist in moving you from where you are to where you want to be. Right now is the best time to make your move, when you consider that …
Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at the National Association of REALTORS® observes ~
“Imbalance persists for mid-to-lower priced homes with solid demand and insufficient supply, which is consequently pushing up home prices.”
Low mortgage interest rates and current home prices dictate a “best time” to make your move. The experts observe the trends, and we need those observations to make decisions about buying and selling. However, those expert observations do not drive the marketplace. You, the real estate consumer, by your activity of actual buying and selling are the ones who directly impact the market and set those trends in motion.