In February, all regions experienced a decrease in pending home sales (contracts penned), according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Compared to January, sales fell 10.6%, and fell 0.5% from February 2020.

As with every real estate news story you’ve read here in recent years, NAR continues to point to tight inventory levels as the continuing plague on the market.

“The demand for a home purchase is widespread, multiple offers are prevalent, and days-on-market are swift but contracts are not clicking due to record-low inventory,” said NAR’s Chief Economist, Dr. Lawrence Yun.

He observes that overall demand does not appear to be impacted by mortgage rates trending upwards, expected to remain low at no more than 3.5% this calendar year.

It is interesting to note, however, that more expensive homes had increased sales activity because of “reasonable supply,” per Dr. Yun, adding that homes above the $250,000 mark have driven home sales in recent months.

That said, Dr. Yun indicates that even homes priced above $500,000 to less than $1 million are subject to the tight inventory challenges.

“Potential buyers may have to enlarge their geographic search areas, given the current tight market,” Dr. Yun noted. “If there were a larger pool of inventory to select from – ideally a five- or a six-month supply – then more buyers would be able to purchase properties at an affordable price.”

In past months, NAR has repeatedly pointed to the same solution to the inventory challenge – new home builders. If supply were increased and housing starts improved, demand would be more readily satiated and fewer people would be priced out of the market.

Economic conditions typically shift under any new President, and with an ongoing pandemic, we are watching for any signs of hope in a dark time. With building material costs continuing to increase, labor conditions in the sector remaining difficult, mortgage rates are rising (albeit slowly), inventory levels are not expected to immediately improve.

Just words

Collins English Dictionary defines a starter home as a “small, new house which is cheap enough for people who are buying their first home to afford.” You won’t find the phrase too often outside of the real estate industry.

There isn’t much about the etymology of the phrase, but most likely, it’s a marketing ploy to get people to buy into the idea of purchasing another home in a few years.

Grind your gears

Mark Greutman, husband to Lauren Greutman, believes that the term “starter home” should bother people. The phrase implies that you will upgrade later.

Your starter home isn’t good enough for the rest of your life. And not to get into how well Americans have it, what about people who will never be able to afford anything more? Is it an insult to them?

Do you really need two living rooms?

Older generations bought one home and lived in it until they could no longer be independent. In today’s world, we buy a starter home, then upgrade to have more space, to live farther away from our neighbors, to have rooms that are only used once or twice a year, and to make sure you have a 2 or 3 car garage to hold your vehicles and more stuff, some of which isn’t taken out very often.

But consider this: You could pay off your starter home in 15 to 20 years, if you budget right.

You could be out from under a mortgage and have money to travel, send the kids to college, or even retire early. When you think about what led to the financial crisis in 2008, isn’t it better to have a smaller house where you can make the payments than worry about losing your house?

Be content where you are

Realtors are motivated to make sure that they have customers. If people buy one home with the intent to stay, will the market dry up? Probably not, because people move and a new generation will be ready to purchase homes for their own family.

Let’s think about that phrase, “starter home.” It fuels consumerism and discontentment. Don’t call cheaper houses starter homes, but just a home.

Everybody’s home is feeling a little extra lived-in these days, so it’s no surprise that home renovations are seeing a spike in popularity. While the internet is a veritable stockpile of information, it can be hard to know where to start when making changes to your living space. It’s a problem that Outfit, a DIY renovation service, hopes to fix.

Outfit provides a self-proclaimed “DIY renovation in a box”, and, to their credit, that’s pretty much what their product is: A customized kit with everything you need to make your desired changes to your home. Purportedly, the “everything” aspect is pretty literal; you’ll receive anything from materials to tools depending on your needs, and a companion app guides each aspect of your renovation with tips, walkthroughs, and visuals.

The app is actually a wonder in and of itself. You’ll find the aforementioned walkthroughs and strategies for your space here, but you also have the option to reach out for renovation support from Outfit staff. Should you find yourself face-to-face with a wire you didn’t anticipate, for example, you can snap a photo of the culprit and send it off via the app for an all-clear before proceeding. It’s a delightfully simple solution to the problem of the amateur renovation process.

Incidentally, the lack of price range listed on Outfit’s website inspires trepidation. However, Ian Janicki, the CEO and founder of Outfit, confirmed that the service is priced based on your space and project parameters.

“We evaluate your space and then determine a quote,” says Janicki. Honestly, that’s probably for the best; with the sheer number of moving parts required for any renovation project, being able to pinpoint the necessary materials and resources—and the appropriate cost thereof—is a far better alternative to preset options.

Outfit stands as a cool solution for the average homeowner, but the implications of using this service to prepare or remodel a home for sale are especially intriguing. In theory, having a kit that contains everything one needs to dress up a room or make a house sellable could cut down on waste materials, and brokers might even be able to rope in deals contingent on the effective use of Outfit by the selling (or even purchasing) party.

In short, Outfit is a super cool concept that coincides perfectly with these turbulent times. If you’re interested in renovating any time soon, hit them up for a quote.