Perspective Matters When Selling Your House Today
Does the latest news about the housing market have you questioning your plans to sell your house? If so, perspective is key. Here are some things to keep in mind that a Realtor® would be happy to talk more in depth to you about. It’s still a sellers’ market even if things are cooling down[1].
Fewer Homes for Sale than Pre-Pandemic
While the supply of homes available for sale has increased this year compared to last, we’re still not near what’s considered a balanced market. According to the latest reported figures on OneKey MLS from September 2022, the NY Regional area served currently has a 3-month supply of homes, up from 2.5 last month. When there is 6-month inventory of homes for sale, it is considered a balanced market.
A recent article from Calculated Risk[2] helps put this year’s increased inventory into context (See below):
The chart shows that supply this year has surpassed 2021 levels nationally by over 30%. But the further back you look, the more you’ll understand the big picture. Compared to 2020, we’re just barely above the level of inventory seen then. Back in 2019, considered a normal year in real estate, we’re roughly 40% below the housing supply we had at that time.
Why does this matter to you? When inventory is low, there is demand for your house because there aren’t enough homes available for sale.
Homes Are Still Selling Faster Than More Typical Years
While homes aren’t selling as quickly as they did a few months ago, the average number of days on the market is still well below pre-pandemic norms – in large part because inventory is so low. The graph below uses data from the Realtors’ Confidence Index[3] by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) to illustrate this trend:
As the graph shows, the pre-pandemic numbers (in blue) are higher than the numbers seen during the pandemic (in green). That’s because the average days on market started to decrease as homes sold at record pace during the pandemic. Most recently, due to the cooldown in the housing market, the average days on market have started to tick up slightly at a national scale (shown in orange) but are still far from pre-pandemic norm.
What does this mean for you? While it may not be as fast as it was a couple of month ago, homes are still selling much faster than they did in more normal, pre-pandemic years. And if you enlist a Realtor® to help you price it right, your home could still go under contract quickly.
Bottom Line
If you have questions about selling your house in today’s market, speak with a Realtor®, your local real estate expert. They’ll provide you with context about what’s happening now, locally, regionally, and nationally, so you’re up to date on what you can expect when you’re ready to move.
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