The housing market made an amazing recovery in 2020 and is now positioned for an even stronger year in 2021. Record low mortgage rates are a driving factor is this continued momentum with agerage rates hovering at historic all time lows.
According to the latest survey index from National Association of Realtors (NAR), buyer demand all across the country is incredibly strong. However, that is not the case on the supply side. Seller traffic is simply not keeping up. Here is a breakdown by state: 
As the map shows, buyer traffic is high but seller traffic is low. With so few homes for sale right now, record low inventory is creating a mismatch between supply and demand.
NAR also just reported that the actual number of homes currently for sale stands at 1.28 million, down 22% from last year. Additionally, inventory is at an all time low with 2.3 months supply available at the current sales pace. In a normal market that number would be at 6.0 months of inventory-significantly higher than today.
What does this mean for buyers and sellers?
Buyers need to remain patient in the search process. At the same time, they must be ready to act immediatly once they find the right home since bidding wars are more common when there are so few houses for sale.
Sellers may not want to wait until spring to put their homes on the market though. With such high buyer demand and so little inventory, not is the perfect time to put your home on the market.
There is no indication the market is going to slow down any time soon, assuming inventory continues to come on market. If you have any questions about listing your home please feel free to contact us at Perpetual Realty Group!