where is all the good inventory?

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal declared that "bidding wars are back!" And speaking from experience, let me be the first to add, they aren't kidding. I have written offers on several properties over the past few weeks and there have been multiple offers on every single one. Great if you're a listing agent, not so much if you're representing buyers! As the article points out, it's not such much a re-inflation of the bubble, or buyers frothing at the mouth to buy, but more a lack of inventory. That too, I can attest to. If I could get every one of my currently active buyers into what they're looking for in the next 30 days, I could take the rest of the year off.

The Journal ponders possible reasons for this firing up of the market. As Curbed LA points out, they attribute to either a) sellers holding off on listing til they can get more money, b) investors flush with cash swooping in and snatching these hot properties out from underneath legit owner/occupiers or c) a large (potentially hundreds of thousands), as yet unlisted shadow inventory of foreclosures.