If you’re looking for a home now and discouraged by the shortage of offerings, you’re not alone. Redfin has announced the results of its buyer survey and that very same inventory shrinkage is the number one complaint from home buyers.
In the 53 major metro markets tracked by The Department of Numbers, the number of homes for sale is down over 23% year-over-year, and in San Francisco, inventory is at a record low. Obviously by the laws of supply and demand (demand hasn’t shrunk in tandem with inventory; rather, it’s gone up), prices rise when homes are scarce. And few buyers are excited about rising prices. All in all, Redfin survey data shows the majority of current buyers (so in quarter one of this year) believe the market now is a seller’s paradise, but a buyer’s hell.
Indeed, if the rest of 2013 performs as this first quarter has, buyers face real battles ahead.
If you’d like to read the full article from Curbed SF, please click here! If you’d like to read more about the inventory shortage from Redfin, please click here!