The Perks of Selling Your House When Inventory Is Low

When it comes to selling your house, you’re likely dealing with the challenge of balancing the current market conditions with your personal needs as you prepare for your move.

One favorable aspect working in your favor is the limited availability of homes for sale at the moment. It’s essential to understand the current inventory situation and how it can impact your situation.

The Supply of Homes for Sale Is Far Below the Norm

The number of homes available for sale is well below the usual levels. When selling something, it’s advantageous if the item is both in demand and in short supply. Why is this beneficial? It increases the desirability of the item since it’s scarce. This is precisely what’s occurring in the current housing market. There are more potential buyers searching for homes than there are homes available for sale.

To illustrate the extent of the low inventory, consider the latest data on active listings, which represent homes currently on the market. The graph below utilizes information from Realtor.com to demonstrate the contrast between the number of active listings in September of this year and the more typical market conditions.

As you can see in the graph, if you look at the last normal years for the market (shown in the blue bars) versus the latest numbers for this year (shown in the red bar), it’s clear inventory is still far lower than the norm.

What That Means for You

Buyers have fewer choices now than they did in more typical years. And that’s why you could still see some great perks if you sell today. Because there aren’t enough homes to go around, homes that are priced right are still selling fast and the average seller is getting multiple offers from eager buyers. Based on the latest data from the Confidence Index from the National Association of Realtors (NAR):

• 69% of homes sold in less than a month.
• 2.6 offers: the average number of offers on recently sold homes.

An article from Realtor.com also explains how the limited number of houses for sale benefits you if you’re selling:

“. . . homes spent two weeks less on the market this past month than they did in the average September from 2017 to 2019 . . . as still-limited supply spurs homebuyers to act quickly . . .”

Bottom Line

Because the supply of homes for sale is so low, buyers desperately want more options – and your house may be just what they’re looking for. If you work with a trusted local agent to get your house listed at the right price for today’s market. You could still see it sell quickly and potentially get multiple offers.