According to a recent article in Bloomberg News, some of the hottest AKA tightest markets in the country are “unwinding just in time for the key spring selling season, giving buyers the edge for the first time in years.”
Nationally, according to RE/MAX’s latest National Housing Report, inventory in Q1 2019 climbed +6.4% y/y.
The West Coast housing market, a market recently getting slammed by an eye-popping decrease of -11% in home sales, is beginning to lean towards buyers with increasing inventories. Take a look at this list of cities with the biggest inventory gains (put together by Trulia) in Q1 2019:
- San Jose – +55% more inventory
- Seattle – +41% more inventory
- Salt Lake City – +37% more inventory
- San Francisco – +28% more inventory
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim – +28% more inventory
- San Diego – +25% more inventory
- Denver – +23% more inventory
- Nashville – +20% more inventory
- Atlanta – +18% more inventory
- Dallas-Fort Worth – +17% more inventory
Some neighborhoods in New York City are reporting sales inventories up by +20% annually, according to StreetEasy.
Take a look at these neighborhoods where inventory is up and sales prices are down:
- Inwood – +23% more inventory; prices down -11%
- Lower East Side – +45% more inventory; prices down -2%
- Battery Park City – +24% more inventory; prices down -.3%
- Gramercy Park – +29% more inventory; prices down -4%
- Morningside Heights – +31% more inventory; prices down -2%
Just as sellers have been able to leverage their advantage in the housing market over the last few years, buyers can now leverage their advantage by having their agents negotiate everything from sales prices to finishes to closing costs.
Agents…this is where you come in to help your buyers. Know that in New York City, if not many other markets, according to StreetEasy, over 50% of the homes listed for sale in 2018 did not sell…they were simply taken off the market…35% of the homes that did sell were sold below initial listing prices…5% of the homes closed at the initial listing prices…8% closed above initial listing prices.
