So I have been scouring over home sales data from both the NAR, which tracks existing home sales, as well as the Department of Commerce, which tracks new home sales.
As you know from reading the papers and watching the TV, the real estate market has been hit by a decline in home sales, both existing and new; this is probably nothing new to you. The demand for real estate is not what it used to be.
What you won't hear from the papers or the TV is that the number of existing and new homes for sale (the supply) have been declining; this is a good thing.
According to the NAR, the number of homes for sale (4.234 million) is the lowest it has been in 7 months. The number is also -4.5% lower than it was last year at this same time.
According to the Department of Commerce, the number of new homes for sale (381,000) is the lowest since 2003. Additionally, this number is -25.7% lower than it was last year at this same time.
And while these supply numbers are only half of the equation, the other half being the number sold (the demand), this is still positive news as I have been saying for quite a while that there are simply too many homes for sale and that it is this excess supply of homes that is causing downward pressure on home values.
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Thanks for the post. In Montgomery County, Maryland home sales were up 33% and 7% in September and October 2008 over the same months in 2007 respectively. The sooner the excess inventory is sold the better. Let's just hope that the foreclosure market does not zap the prices much more. You have to figure the prices are becoming much more attractive with positive increases in a recession. i am keeping my fingers crossed.