How is inventory in your market?

Buying & Selling Real Estate
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How is inventory in your market?

Johnny QuilenderinoPro Member
Real Estate Agent · Slidell, LA · Member since 2017 · 207 posts · 267 votes

DC inventory is at all time historic lows. I expect the inventory to slowly creep up, as interest rates race to back to above 3 percent. Deals are being made in the condo markets, but absolutely shredded in the single family home market. The last offer I placed for a SFR lost out to 53 other offers.

DC metro inventory would have to stop selling inventory for 10 months to get back to "buyers" market. We have .4 months of "good" inventory on the market, anything that stays longer than 14 days, there is something wrong with it and we can at cut at least 10-20k off the price to start the negotiation. 

How low is the inventory where you guys are looking to invest, or buy your first home? 

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Ruth Lyons
Investor · Colorado Springs · Member since 2016 · 232 posts · 150 votes
5y

This housing inventory shortage is unprecedented in the real estate housing market. An agent in Maryland, I’m working with several buyers who are very frustrated trying to find a home. As seems to be the case across the country, homes that hit the market sell in a few days with multiple offers pushing the price past asking.

There seem to be a lot of contributing factor, many pandemic related:

  • - Employee uncertainty of what “work from home” will look like in 6 months are reluctant to consider selling. At the same time, more buyers are coming to the market looking for homes with amenities more conducive to working from home like less open space, a home office, etc.
  • - Sellers who want to move see very limited choices on the market and decide not to sell (where will they move to?).
  • - Baby-boomers and the elderly hold a lot of the would-be homes for sale and many are reluctant to move or fearful of having showings during the pandemic. And the elderly are increasingly unlikely to make the move into assisted living facilities and nursing homes as long as pandemic restrictions are in force.
  • - Mortgage forbearance government mandates have restricted the flow of homes to market. Foreclosures that would have been available never made it to market.
  • - The cost of construction materials has been rapidly and steadily increasing since the pandemic hit constricting new homes being built and put on the market. Without new homes to move into, many would be sellers can’t find what they want on the market.

Some factors aren’t directly related to the pandemic:

  • - Historically low interest rates have driven up demand --- with buyers flooding the market -- while squelching supply as many would be sellers simply refinanced and decided to stay put.
  • - Available inventory of homes was already trending down before the pandemic hit. Pandemic factors contributed to the downward slide.
  • - The construction industry has a shortage of workers, having never fully recovered from the 2008 housing crash which pushed construction workers into other jobs. At the same time, stricter immigration policies have led to fewer available workers who typically fill these jobs.
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  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    5y

    Ours is the same. Everything goes under contract quickly unless it's absolutely priced wrong. We have two months of inventory and I don't see any signs of slowing unless something drastic changes.

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  • Marcus Auerbach
    Investor · Milwaukee - Mequon, WI · Member since 2010 · 5k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    5y

    Milwaukee is down to 19 days on market average. We have about half the inventory we should have based on the last couple years average. And it shows - anything worth buying has multiple offers on the first weekend. When I am on the listing side I try to be high enough to not get over ten offers, if you get 53 you were underpriced or showed it too long. I advise my buyers to ignore listings that look HGTV perfect, rather look for space and less than perfect pictures! 

    1Reply
  • Evan Polaski
    Cincinnati, OH · Member since 2020 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    5y

    @Johnny Quilenderino: what's inventory? :)  As others have said, the Cincinnati market seems to be very hot with most everything going quickly and often times over list.  Of course there are outliers, but generally, in the neighborhood I live in and/or consider investing in it is nonexistent.

    2Reply
  • Filipe Pereira
    Property Manager · Windsor Locks, CT · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    5y

    Everyone loves numbers and graphs, am I right @Johnny Quilenderino? Here's the graphs for median sales price in Connecticut throughout our entire MLS.

    And here is the graph for the number of new listings throughout CT. It's your classic case of supply and demand. Supply went down, demand stayed the same or went up, so prices went up as well. 

    Any good deal is going multiple offers above ask right now. It's incredible and frightening at the same time. Looks like people sat out the pandemic until May, then said "screw it" and started buying again. 

    3Reply
  • Allen Wu
    Rental Property Investor · Member since 2021 · 335 posts · 193 votes
    5y

    @Johnny Quilenderino

    Same in Los Angeles CA. I was hoping for the actual mass CA exodus, but nope, inventory right and homes are going for 10-30% over listing!

    3Reply
  • JD MartinBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
    5y

    There's no inventory here to speak of. It's awful if you are a buyer. The thinnest I have ever seen it in the past 25 years, easily. 

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  • Beth Vandroff
    Property Manager · Lakewood Ranch, FL · Member since 2020 · 13 posts · 4 votes
    5y

    @Johnny Quilenderino slim pickings in the Florida market. Blink and the property is gone. Listings getting multiple offers above asking price. Florida is a desirable market for those looking to get out of the congested cities, and the cold.

    3Reply
  • Mike Dymski
    Investor · Greenville, SC · Member since 2016 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes
    5y

    Fed Reserve uniform

    3Reply
  • Sherry McQuageBusiness Member
    Real Estate Broker · Moore County, NC · Member since 2020 · 168 posts · 141 votes
    5y

    @Johnny Quilenderino

    Properties that are move in ready, priced correctly, updated, and in decent to good areas are often under contract the day they go live on the MLS.... and sometimes even before they hit the market.

    Inventory is lowest in the "affordable" price range of $200,000 or less.

    Fixers are selling well to flippers and investors. Most first time home buyers are priced out of the market, or are buying in small towns within a 45 minute drive.

    There is an abundance of one type of property in Moore County, NC....lots with tear downs on them. There's many builders looking for lots upon which to build, and none of them seem to want to buy a lot with a tear down on it. Yes, it costs money to tear down and haul off debris, a demo permit, and of course buying it from an owner that thinks it is only slightly less valuable than the lot next door that has a habitable house on it.

    Despite the shortage of listings, I am enjoying the challenge of finding sellers that are willing to sell.... drive for dollars, absentee owners, and for sale by owners are some of my favorites to interact with.

    As a realtor, I feel that I am here to help those that need it; for those that know what they're doing, welcome to the exciting ever changing market!

    2Reply
  • Fabio Sarmiento
    Member since 2020 · 1 post · 2 votes
    5y

    In south Florida it’s crazyyyy over price

    2Reply
  • Matthew Paul
    Severna Park, MD · Member since 2013 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    5y

    Annapolis Md area . Bidding wars , sellers are pricing on the low side and getting 50K over asking  in the $400K and up . They are sold within a week . House up the street from me had a line forming the first day of showings . 20 cars parked on the street . 

    2Reply
  • Lien VuongBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Boston, MA · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    5y

    Boston market is down 45% from last year and absorption rate is up 100% so increased bidding wars and higher customer demand. Last week's rate increase changed it some but they're back out again house hunting!

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  • Jorden P Dupont
    Real Estate Agent · Windsor Locks · Member since 2020 · 20 posts · 21 votes
    5y

    Same here in Connecticut. SFRs and small multi's are priced slightly higher due to the hot market. I would say almost 90-95% become contingent within the first few days of being posted if not sooner. One SFR we looked at had showings spaced 15 minutes apart for an entire day.

    1Reply
  • Allen Wu
    Rental Property Investor · Member since 2021 · 335 posts · 193 votes
    5y

    @Fabio Sarmiento

    How is southwest Florida like Cape Coral in your opinion?

    0Reply
  • Will BarnardPro Member
    Moderator
    Developer · Santa Clarita, CA · Member since 2008 · 15k+ posts · 10k+ votes
    5y

    "How low is the inventory where you guys are looking to invest, or buy your first home?" - Lowest can not describe how low it is! My recent property just sold in Jan for $245k over ask price at $2.24M. Scarcity defines the current market conditions here in Los Angeles and surrounding areas. COVID made it worse, not better.

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    3Reply
  • Wesley Davis
    Developer · Tampa, FL · Member since 2020 · 84 posts · 59 votes
    5y

    @Allen Wu

    Our inventory down here is also at an all time low. Everything we list is gone full retail price in less than 24 hours. There are still deals out there to find but most investors in this area are building new and renting them out.

    1Reply
  • Carl Hebert
    Rental Property Investor · Auburn, ME · Member since 2015 · 236 posts · 140 votes
    5y

    The multi-family market in central Maine has been diminished to almost nothing. Like others have said on here already, any property that is in decent shape and priced correctly goes under contract in 1-3 days.

    1Reply
  • Nick C.
    Investor · Tampa, FL · Member since 2011 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    5y

    I’m seeing a theme developing here...

    3Reply
  • Alyson Anderson
    Realtor · Harford County, MD · Member since 2020 · 118 posts · 33 votes
    5y

    @Johnny Quilenderino

    The Maryland market has historically low investors! Houses are selling within hours with multiple offers. Buyers are becoming frustrated but it has been a great time to educate our clients and prepare them for the home buying process. I have been focusing more on a lot of off market deals and gaining strong relationships. I am very optimistic about the spring market!

    1Reply
  • Dustin Letourneau
    Louisville, KY · Member since 2015 · 19 posts · 11 votes
    5y

    As someone new to REI and looking for their first property - can any of this be explained? It's crazy to see almost every post on here stating the same thing "inventory is historically low". Who is buying all these and where are they coming from? Are renters converting to owners? As someone looking for an entry point I can only hope to keep grinding and maybe a possible correction in the market to present more opportunities that meet our business numbers.

    0Reply
  • Bob E.
    Queen Creek, AZ · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    5y

    We put offers on a few small apartment buildings and a duplex last week.  Everything had multiple offers within 48 hours.  Still looking....

    1Reply
  • Cathryn Sta
    Investor · San Francisco · Member since 2020 · 39 posts · 28 votes
    5y

    @Dustin Letourneau

    A slow down in building new housing after the Great Recession + super low interest rates.

    3Reply
  • Cathryn Sta
    Investor · San Francisco · Member since 2020 · 39 posts · 28 votes
    5y

    @Johnny Quilenderino

    Same in Boise.

    0Reply
  • Greymi Valdez-Larger
    Member since 2021 · 1 post · 4 votes
    5y

    @Dustin Letourneau people are working from home. They now could move anywhere and work form home. I live in Jersey,  New Yorkers have flocked NJ with a huge buying power. We had to rent after selling our house at the beginning of covid. every house we tried to buy we got out bid. I went to an open house in the summer where there were over 30 pp waiting outside to see it. plus the realtor had a 3 page waiting list. its insane! I want to land my first deal but this market is nuts.

    4Reply
  • Timothy Lewis
    Investor · Miami, FL · Member since 2013 · 377 posts · 258 votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Fabio Sarmiento:

    In south Florida it’s crazyyyy over price

     Add a couple more "y's" to that

    0Reply
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