Inventory Follow-up…May 1 Stats

Westcoe Realtors, Riverside California…Well gang, we really struck a chord with all the buyers out there with last weeks blog about the dwindling, decreasing, declining (and many other “d” words) housing inventory in our area.  As a result, we have been peppered with requests for an update, since the most recent statistics were for the beginning of April.

So…ask and you shall receive.  Here is an update to last weeks data as of today, May 1, 2012…and it’s not pretty.

As you know, we reported that available housing inventory in Riverside had dropped from 1,104 properties for sale as of January 1, 2012 to 795 properties as of April 1…and unfortunately, as of today, May 1, that number has dropped again to 670…a drop of almost 40% since the beginning of the year.

This means that while it is a wonderful time to buy a home, and buyers have finally figured that out, the process will still require massive amounts of both patience and expedience.  Expedience will be required by every buyer who is looking for a home, because if you snooze, you will lose (so jump too when your agent calls you about a new home for sale), and patience will be mandated in large doses because you may have to miss a few before you get your offer accepted.

The good news is that in a market like this, those sellers with equity, who have been languishing on the sidelines for the past few years, will get the message and we should begin to see more “regular/standard” listings available for sale.

The bad news is that until the banks get rid of all the homes they have either as foreclosures or in the short sale pipeline, this market is here to stay…and so once again, the rest of the world is at the mercy of what the big banks are doing.  A scary thought, but such is our life at the moment.

Our advice?  As a buyer, stay patient and keep your eye on the end result, which is a home purchased at a very reasonable price with a super-low interest rate.  As a seller, if you have equity, and you are considering a move, now is the time.  A standard sale (as opposed to a short sale or a bank repo) can command a higher price-no bank “garbage” to deal with…so jump in.

Remember, it has always been about supply and demand in the real estate world…and right now, in our Riverside area, demand is far out pacing supply…good news finally for home owners.

Take care, and as always, thanks for reading our blog.