𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲.

Headlines were pounding the idea, and still are, that there is a housing shortage.
Take a look at what's happened to housing inventory since October 2019.
Some of the country's largest real estate markets have now moved well beyond their pre-pandemic inventory levels.

Look at the maps and consider these numbers:
Washington: +49.3%
Arizona: +49.2%
Colorado: +40.4%
Utah: +34.7%
Texas: +32.0%
Florida: +13.6%
Georgia: +10.8%

Texas, Florida, Arizona, and Georgia alone represent enormous housing markets. They're also states where construction, real estate investment, and housing-related economic activity play significant roles.
And now, available-for-sale inventory in many of these markets is substantially higher than it was before the pandemic.

Meanwhile, other parts of the country are experiencing an entirely different reality:
Illinois: -57.7%
North Dakota: -38.5%
Wisconsin: -29.9%
Michigan: -26.9%
New Jersey: -46.1%

Two very different housing markets. Two very different supply environments. There isn't a U.S. housing market. And this is precisely why national housing statistics can be misleading.

Increasing inventory + declining affordability + weakening buyer demand = a very different negotiating environment.
For buyers and investors willing to look beyond the asking price, that can create opportunities that simply weren't available a few years ago.

The market is changing. If you're a new investor looking for that mythical "right time", the future is now. All the bad news you're reading about is good news. There are opportunities the likes of which we haven't seen in years.
You don't always need a pile of cash, perfect credit, or a mortgage from a bank to make a deal happen. You just need to know how to put a deal together.
Lease options, seller financing, assignments, and wraps are back on the table.

Source: / U.S. Census Bureau. Active listing inventory change, October 2019–2026. See map.