The current housing landscape presents greater home values, low interest rates, and high buyer demand. All of these factors point to the strong market forecasted to continue throughout the rest of the year.
There is, however, one thing that may cause the industry to tap the brakes: an overall lack of housing inventory. Buyer demand naturally increases during the summer months, but the current supply is not keeping up.
Here is a look at what a few industry experts have to say:
Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at National Association of Realtors
“Imbalance persists for mid-to-lower priced homes with solid demand and insufficient supply, which is consequently pushing up home prices.”
Mark Fleming, Chief Economist of First American
“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.”
Danielle Hale, Chief Economist of Realtor.com
“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.”
Bottom Line
If you’re thinking of selling, now may be the time. Demand for your house will be strong during a period when there is very little competition, ideally leading to a quick sale and a great return on your investment.
Lou Zucaro
It’s important to understand that articles like this, unless they mention a specific area, are talking about generalizations that apply NATIONALLY.
Here in the Chicago suburbs, our home value growth and sales rate are both very slow, hovering right around 1.5% – 2%. Showing activity is actually down from the same time last year in the Midwest in general (PM me if you’d like some documentation on this).
Our suburbs are very driven by specific micro markets, some of which are consistently in demand and hot, and others of which take longer to sell.
It’s important to keep all of this in mind, as stats that focus on national generalities are often at odds with the reality of buying or selling a home here in the Chicago burbs.
If you have any questions about your specific market area, or someplace you’re thinking of moving to, please let me know and I’ll be happy to do research based on actual market data!