Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Declining Inventory Could Skew Annual Trends

Over the past few weeks, the data points with respect to housing in general have been fairly consistent. Prices are stabilizing and, in some areas, increasing slightly. Homes are selling closer to their asking prices and are requiring fewer days on the market in order to sell. The above has resulted in a dearth of inventory, which leads me to my point...


Since the market decline which began in 2006, as a general proposition there has been a glut of inventory. Given annual cycles, many sellers chose to take their properties off the market during this time of year as the summer months are typically a slow time for buyer activity in the Northeast. However, this may be a year to buck this trend.


I have personally seen a lack of inventory of quality properties, particularly in the more affluent areas and at price points which would cater to upper-middle class income buyers.  My suggestion is that anyone looking to sell should take the pulse of his or her local market (I recommend doing so here) and not necessarily assume that the next month will be the "slow season". If there is no or little inventory comparable to your property, a contrarian play may be the way to go this year!


As an aside, real estate professionals plan their lives around annual trends and the vast majority take advantage of this next month or so to vacation. This includes agents, lenders, brokers, appraisers and attorneys, so you may want to add an extra week's time when planning a closing date.