If you thought about selling your
house this year, now may be the time to do it. The inventory of homes for
sale is well below historic norms and buyer demand is skyrocketing. We were
still in high school when we learned the concept of supply and demand: the
best time to sell something is when supply of that item is low and demand for
that item is high. That defines today’s real estate market. Jonathan Smoke, Chief
Economist at realtor.com, revealed in a recent
article that:
“The
biggest challenge to buyers this spring will be simply finding a home to buy
and getting it successfully under contract. That’s because the supply of
homes for sale is at an all-time low, and yet demand is strong and getting
stronger.”
Smoke
goes on to say:
“We
started the year with the lowest inventory of homes available for sale that
we’ve ever seen on realtor.com. While we did see inventory grow 2% in
February, total inventory was down 11% over last year.”
In
this type of market, a seller may hold a major negotiating advantage when it
comes to price and other aspects of the real estate transaction including the
inspection, appraisal and financing contingencies.
Bottom
Line
As
a potential seller, you are in the driver’s seat right now. It might be time
to hit the gas.
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