Perspective Matters When Selling Your House Today

Fewer homes for sale than pre-pandemic

Although the supply of homes for sale this year has increased compared to last year, it is far from what can be considered a balanced market. A recent Calculated Risk article helps contextualize this year’s inventory increase (see chart).

We can see that this year’s supply is more than 30% above 2021 levels. But the more you look back, the more you can see the big picture. Compared to 2020, we are slightly above stock levels at the time. 2019 was the real estate industry’s last normal year, with about 1/40th of the housing supply at the time.
why is this important? Even with low inventory, there is still demand for your home simply because there aren’t enough homes for sale.

Homes are selling faster than usual

While home sales aren’t as fast as they were a few months ago, the average number of days on the market is still well below pre-pandemic standards, largely because inventory is very low. 

The chart below illustrates this trend using data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) Realtor Confidence Index.

As the graph shows, pre-pandemic numbers (shown in blue) are higher than those seen during the pandemic (shown in green). This is because the average number of days on the market began to decline as homes sold at record rates during the pandemic. More recently, the slowdown in the housing market has again caused the average days in the market to rise slightly (shown in orange), but is still well below pre-pandemic standards.
what does that mean to you? It may not be as fast as it was a few months ago, but homes are selling much faster than in a normal pre-pandemic year. Also, if the price is right, the house could be signed soon.

Buyer Demand Has Moderated and Is Now in Line with More Typical Years

Because of rising mortgage rates have weakened buyer demand this year. But here again perspective is important. It’s not normal to get 3-5 offers like sellers did during the pandemic. The graph below shows the story of this change over time using data from his NAR going back to 2018.

Before the pandemic, it was common for homes sold to receive around 2-2.5 offers (shown in blue). As the market heated up during the pandemic, the average number of offers soared (shown in green) as record-low mortgage rates boosted demand. More recently, however, the number of home listings sold today (shown in orange) has begun to return to pre-pandemic levels as the market cools off from the frenzy.
What’s the point for you since the peak of the pandemic, buyer demand has weakened, but not disappeared. Buyers are still out there and you can still sell your home today if you value your home at the current market price.

Bottom Line

If you have any questions about selling your home in today’s housing market, feel free to contact us. That way, you’ll have context about current events and stay up to date on what to expect when you’re ready to move.

Find out why Kaya Homes is the leader in Long Island real estate and are your go-to realtor in the Lynbrook, Oceanside, Malverne, Hewlett, Valley Stream, Baldwin, East Rockaway, Woodmere, Cedarhurst, Hewlett Harbor, and Freeport area.