There was a point last year, after mortgage rates increased and buyer demand stalled, when the inventory of homes for sale began to rise. The result was more homes for buyers to choose from and a break from the seemingly never-ending home-price increases. It was short lived, though. In fact, according to Black Knight Financial's latest Mortgage Monitor, inventory has now fallen in 95 percent of major markets since the start of the year.
Andy Walden, Black Knight's vice president of enterprise research, says most markets are seeing fewer listed homes for sale. “For-sale inventory is moving the other direction in much of the country,” Walden said. “Active listings have deteriorated in 95 percent of major markets so far this year and, overall, we're still down more than 50 percent from pre-pandemic levels.”
Fortunately, new home construction has been improving in recent months, which should help the supply of available homes. But inventory will likely remain low for the foreseeable future, which means home buyers need to prepare for a competitive market.
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