180 degrees
A survey from the National Association of Realtors is showing a marked turnaround in the perspective of the foreclosure-focused real estate market from four years ago.
This data, collected and analyzed from the “additional comments” section of the monthly “REALTORS® Confidence Index Survey,” shows that foreclosures are much less of a worry than they have been in the past, and lower inventories are a more current pain point for realtors in the market.
When looking at the comments from the 2009 and 2012 surveys, respectively, words like “short sale,” “foreclosure,” and “bank” were popular in the comments.
The comments section for 2016 tells a decidedly different story. According to the NAR, “The most frequent words and phrases in 2016 were: ‘low inventory,’ ‘inventory low,’ ‘multiple offer,’ and ‘inventory.’ This indicated that the main concern or issue of the members was the low inventory in the real estate market, especially relative to the number of buyers.”
These concerns are not unfounded
According to a report from Trulia, amongst the top 100 metropolitan real estate markets, overall inventory of homes, especially starter and trade-up homes has significantly decreased. Compared to last year, each category decreased about a percentage point. However, that trend begins as far back as 2012, and in that 5-year span, inventory for starter and trade-up homes is down 8 to 9 percent.
By contrast, premium homes saw a 0.9 percent uptick in inventory year-over-year. Compared to 2012, that kind of inventory is only down about 1.7 percent.
Interestingly enough, that same Trulia report speculates that over-investing in foreclosure units may explain the falling inventory. These foreclosure until are now used as rental units, making them less available to the retail market.
Another report from Redfin indicates that rising home values and rising mortgage rates will likely cause potential sellers to stay in their homes, both to maximize their investment and keep their existing mortgage rates under 4 percent.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Finding more inventory for newer buyers will let realtors help those seeking home ownership. ” quote=”Uncovering more inventory for these first and second-time home buyers will allow realtors to serve a market that is increasingly looking to make the leap to home ownership.”]
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