The National Association of Realtors reported on Friday that existing home sales in the U.S. were selling at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.75 million units in September, or 11% more than in September of 2011. This was the 15th straight month of year over year gains in home sales.
The bitter sweet news of course is less inventory with 2.32 million homes listing this September – a 20% drop from last September’s inventory level and down 3.3% from the prior month. The last time inventory was this low was 2005.. that’s right—2005 was the top of the market for home sales!
Bittersweet… yes, as we have discussed so many times before, when the scales of supply & demand shift like this, it is a precursor to price increases. Sweet for the seller, bitter for the buyer who was trying to time the market… yes, we’re off the bottom!
The Mortgage Bankers Association released a report last week stating a 12% year over year increase in mortgage applications.
It’s like a perfect storm… historically low mortgage rates, lowest inventory levels since 2005, prices on the rise, rents on the rise… what could any buyer be waiting for?
Maybe a handwritten invitation? How about a text or email instead?