Century 21 M&M Realtors are reporting a shortage of the housing inventory in Northern California. North to South, from Roseville to Fresno, and East to West from Oakdale to Cupertino, all of our Sales Managers say that there are lots of Buyers, but a limited supply of homes for sale. What does this mean – It’s a good time to sell your home in Northern California!
To that end, we scoured the internet looking for articles related to the California housing inventory shortage. Is it a good thing… or, is it a bad thing? What follows are a sampling of articles;
You’ll Have To Search For California Real Estate
If you are thinking of moving to California or of relocating within the great state, then it might be a bit more difficult than you think to find great California real estate at prices you can afford and in areas you want to live in. Why? Simply put, the California real estate market is a tough market to get into and to find any product that fits all of your needs in.
The first move you need to make before you make the move to California is to sit down with a financial planner and make a budget for the kind of lifestyle you can lead there. If you start with a budget than you’ll be far more able to figure out California real estate without disappointment. One of the biggest problems I see all the time is people who plan to move to California and then wind up really disappointed by a California real estate market that is more expensive and less exciting than they planned on. Read More at allcaliforniarealestate.com
San Francisco Homes Selling Faster as Inventory Drops
With potential home sellers feeling that the market is on the upswing and that housing prices will soon appreciate, many of them have elected to hold off listing their homes, resulting in a citywide inventory shortage. At the same time, potential home buyers fearing higher prices are rushing to buy, particularly with the low-interest rate mortgages that are available today. These two forces are causing the already low for sale housing inventory in the city to be gobbled up at a faster rate. And, without new homes for sale to replace those that have been sold, the city’s inventory remains low, while home sales are staying high.
Single-Family Home Sales
Although the city’s inventory has dropped by 25.5 percent compared to February 2011, inventory levels also have ticked slightly upwards since January of this year, by 7.7 percent. And, despite the low inventory, homes under contract showed improvement compared to the same time last year, rising by as much as 22.9 percent. Moreover, the number of homes sold has almost doubled, by 40.7 percent, with a tally of 173 properties. Read more at thefrontsteps.com
Spring Brings Some Green Shoots in Housing Market – npr.com
Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, says he is much more encouraged than he was one or two years ago. “The recovery seems much more broad-based,” he says. “Whether one goes East Coast — Boston, [or] to the West Coast — Seattle, sales activity is solidly higher.” And smaller markets like Peoria, Ill., Greenville, S.C., and Chattanooga, Tenn., are also doing better, Yun says.
But the single most telling number Yun follows — and these days, celebrates — is housing inventory. Home listings are down 26 percent from last year. That’s close to healthy market levels.
Some worry that a recent settlement between banks and regulators will result in a flood of foreclosed homes hitting the market. But Yun says that so-called shadow inventory of homes in serious delinquency or in the foreclosure process is also down. Read more at npr.org.
Is Declining Housing Inventory a Bad Thing?
It wasn’t long ago that the world was worried about millions and millions of foreclosed homes hitting the open market and crashing home prices another 30%. Now we’re worried there’s not enough supply. Huh?
The problem with the housing market in the first place was too much supply at bubble prices and demand levels. Because housing supply is difficult to destroy or spoil, I’d much rather be in a place with very low supply – even a shortage in terms of “homes for sale relative to demand” – that causes prices to rise in the short-to-intermediate term. Trying to fine tune the “right” supply level is very dangerous. Read more courtesy of altosresearch.com.
If you are ready to sell your home, or you have missed a couple of payments and want to avoid foreclosure, call a Century 21 M&M Realtor today at (800) 350-1548, or Find an Agent. In today’s real estate market you have the best chance of selling your home quickly!
Northern CA Real Estate 