buckhead: Inventory: Where Art Thou? - 06/12/18 04:59 AM
With a strong economy and the lowest unemployment rate since 2000, more Americans are in the market to buy a home—yet sales are stagnant. Existing-home sales are down about 1 percent year over year, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. 
Low inventory is posing less competition for sellers, and homes are selling fast. A property will likely have a buyer under contract within 26 days, according to a survey by realtor.com®. That’s much quicker than historical averages, which have trended toward 50 to 60 days. “We’re in a bizarre world of a heated housing market where home sales are not rising,” … (1 comments)

buckhead: Home Sales Should Be Higher—But They’re Not - 04/26/18 07:45 AM
Following population trends, the U.S. should be adding more than a million households each year for the next few years, economists note in Freddie Mac’s April Outlook report. But higher housing costs and a delay in younger adults’ buying are prompting an uptick in shared living arrangements, multigenerational households, and delayed household formation.
“The broader economic environment remains favorable for home sales,” says Len Kiefer, Freddie Mac’s deputy chief economist. “But without new-home construction and increased housing supply, home sales in the U.S. will have a hard time growing from current levels. If incomes grow and mortgage rate increases are gradual, then … (0 comments)

buckhead: Bidding Wars Abound... How Long Will They Continue? - 02/01/18 08:00 AM
Just like with any product or service, the law of supply and demand impacts home prices. Any time that there is less supply than the market demands, prices increase.
In many areas of the country, the supply of homes for sale in the starter and trade-up home markets is so low that bidding wars have ensued, and the busy spring-buying season is just around the corner.
CoreLogic recently conducted an analysis on national home prices at the time of sale for their January 2018 MarketPulse Report and found that a third of homes sold for at least list price.
“The share selling above list … (1 comments)