Hello! It is hard to believe that it is December! This unusual year is quickly drawing to a close. Included in the “unusual” category is the incredible activity in the housing market, which has provided unending excitement! Buyers want to buy to take advantage of the low, low interest rates, but Sellers are not quite ready to sell their homes. This is creating the anomaly that Steven Thomas brings to light in his Orange County Housing Report provided below my signature line. “The current active inventory plunged by 10% in the past two weeks, its largest drop of the year…Active listing inventory…now sits at its lowest level since 2013.” Yikes! If you are thinking of moving, it is an exciting time to do so!
Thinking of selling? Advance planning for a successful 2021 move is important…
For those who want to buy a home in 2021, we literally will hit the ground running, being prepared to compete. Never a dull moment! I am up for the challenge and I will be there to support you each step of the way on your path to success!
So, as the nights grow colder going into winter, it is the right time to enjoy an eggnog latte and prepare for next year. So give me a call and I will meet you at your favorite coffee shop, my treat! Let’s put together your real estate plan for success! I look forward to seeing you and I always appreciate your referrals!
With an unrelenting lack of supply of homes FOR SALE, it will not be a buyer’s market anytime soon.
Housing has lined up in favor of sellers for years now and it is due to a low inventory of homes available to purchase coupled with strong demand boosted by historically low mortgage rates.
It is tough buying a home in today’s housing market. A couple browses home after home until they find one worth seeing. After scheduling a showing, they write an offer to purchase because the house would be perfect for their growing family. It meets all of their requirements and it has the added bonus of a downstairs bedroom. Excitement and anticipation are in the air as they wait for a response. Their enthusiasm begins to dim as they find out that there are nine additional offers on their “perfect” home. After going back and forth with the seller, the buyers learn that they were not the winning bidder on the home. They have to go back to the drawing board and browse for their next opportunity.
This scenario plays out repeatedly across the United States, not just in Orange County. Many buyers find success, just not immediately. Other buyers, especially in the lower price ranges, write offers over and over again, but just cannot seem to get one of them accepted. It is frustrating and many buyers come to a point where they simply want to give up. Should they wait until the market slows and tilts more in the buyer’s favor? Will it get easier anytime soon? Unfortunately, it will not get any easier and it does not make sense to wait to purchase.
What is going on is simple supply and demand. The active inventory has been at low levels ever since 2012 and a few times has dropped to unprecedented lows. From November 2012 through May 2013, and from December 2017 through February 2018, there were less than 4,000 homes available to purchase. It has only occurred twice since 2004, until this year. The Orange County active listing inventory dipped below 4,000 at the end of October. The New Year will start with fewer homes than 2013. That means that the inventory in 2021 will be below 4,000 into the Spring Market.
