San Francisco
Chronicle Shortage of California homes up for sale:
After years of having too many homes and not enough buyers, real estate agents in California now have the opposite problem – too many buyers and not enough homes for sale.
Making sense of the story
- The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
(C.A.R.) reported Monday that its statewide inventory of unsold homes
index for existing, single-family detached homes fell to 3.2 months in
August from 3.5 months in July and 5.2 months in August 2011.
- The index reflects the number of months needed
to sell the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate.
A six- to seven-month supply is considered normal. When the number
goes higher, inventory is plentiful and it’s considered a buyer’s market.
When the number goes lower, the advantage goes to the seller.
- Declining inventory helps explain why the
statewide median price of an existing, single-family detached home rose to
$343,820 in August, up 3 percent from July and up 15.5 percent from August
2011, according to C.A.R.
- Nationwide, the inventory of homes for sale
also has declined. In July, there was a 6.4-month supply of homes
compared with 9.3 months in July 2011. The current number is in line
with the long-term average, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF
REALTORS®. However, NAR also acknowledges there are “acute
shortages” in places such as California, Arizona, Nevada, and parts of
Florida.
- Also constraining supply is the fact that so
many homeowners are underwater – or owe more than their homes are worth –
and unable to sell without taking a loss. As prices rise, more homes
will increase in value, but it’s going to take time. Meanwhile,
there are still a lot of homes that are not likely to come onto the
market.
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