Curious about what the media has tagged as housing’s Low Inventory?
Well, check the data below and compare the number of listings for March 2013 against those for March 2012, a year ago. West Seattle is down over 35%, Beacon Hill down 57%, Issaquah down 39%, Kirkland down 31%, Bellevue South down 47%. These are big numbers and translate into the ‘bidding wars’ many Buyers are experiencing when they find a home to purchase.
Question: Will it improve soon?
Answer: In all likelihood not… Why? 1) There is a shortage of ‘buildable land’ in these prime areas 2) The new construction presently occurring has been focusing on apartments, not single family homes, as a more profitable use of land 3) New construction pretty much ground to a halt during the past five years due to the ‘housing bust.’ There is little inventory for new in process or completed construction. What has been available has frequently sold out quickly.
Nationally housing starts were down 4.8% in January. Why? The same reason housing has had all of its troubles… financing.
For your .pdf copy of these charts, click here. Click on charts for larger version.
