It is a seller's market out there right now, as buyers flock the market in hopes of finding a new home to live in. While there has been an increase in the demand for more homes, a recent report shows that there remains a tight inventory of homes for sale.
As previously reported here on Realty Today, signs of spring home buying can be seen and felt across the U.S. There has been an increase in the demand for more homes for sale because more Americans are taking advantage of the mortgage rates, which are said to be close to reaching its lowest in three years.
While the demand for more homes in the market is definitely a good sign for sellers, Realtor.com notes that there is still a shortage in the number of homes for buyers to choose from. Despite the tight inventory, however, the publication reports that there has been an increase in the number of homes under contract in March.
According to the National Association of Realtors Pending Homes Sales Index, there was a 30.1 percent increase in pending home sales in March compared to pending home sales in February. There was also a 2.9 percent increase compared to data from a year earlier.
The publication's chief economist, Jonathan Smoke shared that this can be taken as a sign of a "very strong spring and summer for real estate." However, the same cannot be said for first-time homebuyers.
The publication noted that this low inventory of homes and the increase in the demand from buyers has resulted in a rise in the selling prices of houses in the market. This has made it increasingly difficult for first-time buyers, who need to compete with other buyers and investors.
Investors often made it difficult for first-time buyers because they had more cash available on hand and they also had better credit scores. The good news for first-time buyers, though, is that the low mortgage rates can make up for the higher asking prices of homes for sale in the market.
