Housing News

Housing inventory shortages continue, could soon ease

Housing inventory levels remain tight in America, but two real estate media companies assert that the shortage could ease this year as prices continue rising, which could entice more homeowners to sell.

Published

7 years ago

March 7, 2013

Tara Steele

housing inventory shortage

Housing inventory continues to tighten

According to the February Trulia Price Monitor, asking prices for homes listed on their site rose 3.2 percent, and the company says that inventory is unlikely to rise this year, aside from regular seasonal fluctuations. Trulia notes, “Although inventory remains tight, it is now falling less sharply than it had been. Inventory declined fastest in the six months just after prices bottomed in February 2012.”

Likewise, Zillow reports that the number of homes for sale on their site fell 17 percent in February compared to February 2012, which they state indicates an “ongoing, nationwide inventory shortage.” Although the inventory shortage continues, inventory levels are evening out and are no longer plummeting.

Related: Mortgage delinquency and foreclosure rates on the mend

Housing inventory levels across America

Zillow reports that nationally, the greatest annual decreases in inventory were among the most expensive homes. Inventory levels of top-tier homes fell 20.5 percent year-over-year, while middle-tier homes fell 17.2 percent and bottom-tier homes fell 9.1 percent year-over-year.

Asking prices rose 1.4 percent in February, according to Trulia, marking the largest monthly gain since the home-price recovery began, with the largest annual price gains seen in Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Oakland. The company asserts that since Phoenix, Miami, Detroit, Houston, and Oklahoma City were the first to see housing prices bottom out, they will likely be the first markets where inventory levels will expand.

As Zillow reports a 17.0 percent drop in the number of homes for sale, the study reveals that the annual drop was less severe than in January which could indicate some easing of the tight housing inventory levels. Rising home values are expected to enable more owners to list homes in the future, further easing the inventory squeeze.

“It’s important to be patient”

“The supply of for-sale listings continues to dry up, driven in part by potential sellers trapped in negative equity and homeowners that won’t sell out of fear they won’t be able to find a suitable home to buy later,” said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries. “But the impact of constrained inventory will create the solution to the problem. Over the past year, inventory tightness has contributed to increases in home values in many markets.”

Dr. Humphries continued, “As home values rise, some homeowners will be freed from negative equity and able to list their homes, which will contribute to an easing of the inventory crunch. While this inventory is coming, it may still be a frustrating spring for buyers vying for what inventory is available. It’s important to be patient and not commit to paying beyond one’s comfort level in the heat of negotiations.”

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Tara Steele

Tara Steele is the News Director at The American Genius, covering entrepreneur, real estate, technology news and everything in between. If you'd like to reach Tara with a question, comment, press release or hot news tip, simply click the link below.

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Austin

Austin tops the list of best places to buy a home

When looking to buy a home, taking the long view is important before making such a huge investment – where are the best places to make that commitment?

Published

5 years ago

May 29, 2015

Lani Rosales, COO + News Director

Looking at the bigger picture

(REALUOSO.COM) – Let us first express that although we are completely biased about Texas (we’re headquartered here, I personally grew up here), the data is not – Texas is the best. That’s a scientific fact. There’s a running joke in Austin that if there is a list of “best places to [anything],” we’re on it, and the joke causes eye rolls instead of humility (we’re sore winners and sore losers in this town).

That said, SelfStorage.com dug into the data and determined that the top 12 places to buy a home are currently Texas and North Carolina (and Portland, I guess you’re okay too or whatever).

They examined the nerdiest of numbers from the compound annual growth rate in inflation-adjusted GDP to cost premium, affordability, taxes, job growth, and housing availability.

“Buying a house is a big decision and a big commitment,” the company notes. “Although U.S. home prices have risen in the long term, the last decade has shown that path is sometimes full of twists, turns, dizzying heights and steep, abrupt falls. Today, home prices are stabilizing and increasing in most areas of the U.S.”

Click here to continue reading the list of the 12 best places to buy a home…

Housing News

Average age of houses on the rise, so is it now better or worse to buy new?

With aging housing in America, are first-time buyers better off buying new or existing homes? The average age of a home is rising, as is the price of new housing, so a shift could be upon us.

Published

5 years ago

March 2, 2015

Dawn Brotherton, Staff Writer

The average home age is higher than ever

(REALUOSO.COM) – In a survey from the Department of Housing and Urban Development American Housing Survey (AHS), the median age of homes in the United States was 35 years old. In Texas, homes are a bit younger with the median age between 19 – 29 years. The northeast has the oldest homes, with the median age between 50 – 61 years. In 1985, the median age of a home was only 23 years.

With more houses around 40 years old, the National Association of Realtors asserts that homeowners will have to undertake remodeling and renovation projects before selling unless the home is sold as-is, in which case the buyer will be responsible to update their new residence. Even homeowners who aren’t selling will need to consider remodeling for structural and aesthetic reasons.

Prices of new homes on the rise

Newer homes cost more than they used to. The price differential between new homes and older homes has increased from 10 percent traditionally to around 37 percent in 2014. This is due to rising construction costs, scarcity of lots, and a low inventory of new homes that doesn’t meet the demand.

Click here to continue reading this story…

Housing News

Are Realtors the real loser in the fight between Zillow Group and Move, Inc.?

The last year has been one of dramatic and rapid change in the real estate tech sector, but Realtors are vulnerable, and we’re worried.

Published

5 years ago

February 25, 2015

Lani Rosales, COO + News Director

Why Realtors are vulnerable to these rapid changes

(REALUOSO.COM) – Corporate warfare demands headlines in every industry, but in the real estate tech sector, a storm has been brewing for years, which in the last year has come to a head. Zillow Group and Move, Inc. (which is owned by News Corp. and operates ListHub, Realtor.com, TopProducer, and other brands) have been competing for a decade now, and the race has appeared to be an aggressive yet polite boxing match. Last year, the gloves came off, and now, they’ve drawn swords and appear to want blood.

Note: We’ll let you decide which company plays which role in the image above.

So how then, does any of this make Realtors the victims of this sword fight? Let’s get everyone up to speed, and then we’ll discuss.

1. Zillow poaches top talent, Move/NAR sues

It all started last year when the gloves came off – Move’s Chief Strategy Officer (who was also Realtor.com’s President), Errol Samuelson jumped ship and joined Zillow on the same day he phoned in his resignation without notice. He left under questionable circumstances, which has led to a lengthy legal battle (wherein Move and NAR have sued Zillow and Samuelson over allegations of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and misappropriation of trade secrets), with the most recent motion being for contempt, which a judge granted to Move/NAR after the mysterious “Samuelson Memo” surfaced.

Salt was added to the wound when Move awarded Samuelson’s job to Move veteran, Curt Beardsley, who days after Samuelson left, also defected to Zillow. This too led to a lawsuit, with allegations including breach of contract, violation of corporations code, illegal dumping of stocks, and Move has sought restitution. These charges are extremely serious, but demanded slightly less attention than the ongoing lawsuit against Samuelson.