As reported by the National Association of REALTORS®, the number of Existing Home Sales dipped last month, ending the metric’s 5-month winning streak.
Newspaper headlines today are overwhelmingly negative on housing. You’d almost believe this year’s housing recovery had ended.
That’s hardly the case.
See, the other side of the Existing Home Sales story is that — while the number of units sold did fall by 3 percent — the existing supply fell by nearly an entire month.
To home buyers and home sellers, this is huge. Home prices are based on supply and demand and with supplies plummeting, it means that home prices are poised to rise.
Indeed, dwindling inventory isn’t “news” to today’s buyers. Multiple offer situations have been common since the start of the summer and, should supplies fall further, they may soon be the home-buying rule rather than the exception.
Since peaking in November 2008, existing home supplies are down 23%.
