The current housing market’s biggest issue is that there are far fewer homes available for purchase than there are potential buyers. Let’s look at the most recent data on active listings, or homes for sale in a given month, and how it compares to more typical levels to help highlight how limited housing inventory still is.
According to a recent report from Realtor.com:
“On average, active inventory in June was 50.6% below pre-pandemic 2017–2019 levels.”
The graph that follows serves as an example of this. The graph below shows how much the numbers are still falling short of the volume of inventory typical of a more typical market. It does this by using historical data.
It’s important to note that the years 2020–2022 are not depicted in this graph. That’s because the housing market experienced truly abnormal years during those years. Those have been excluded to ensure a fair comparison and prevent data skewing.
The number of active listings is still significantly below the average when you compare the orange bars for 2023 with the most recent normal years for the housing market (2017–2019).
How Should You Interpret This?
Because of the low inventory, now is a great time to sell your home if you’re considering doing so. Fewer options for buyers than in more typical times are continuing to affect some important housing market statistics. The following information, for instance, from the most recent Confidence Index from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), will please sellers.
- The percentage of homes that sold in under a month increased slightly to 74%.
- The median number of days on the market decreased to 18 days, demonstrating that when homes are priced correctly, they continue to sell quickly.
- On recently sold homes, there were 3 points more offers than usual.
Overall, the low housing inventory is having a significant impact on the market. For sellers, it’s a great time to put your home on the market, as there are fewer options for buyers, which can lead to higher prices and quicker sales. For buyers, the limited inventory means they’ll need to act fast when they find a home they like and be prepared to make competitive offers. The housing market is in a unique situation right now, and it will be interesting to see how it continues to evolve in the coming months.