Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Northwest Real Estate Federal Way & Puyallup

  At the beginning of the year, industry forecasts called for home price appreciation to slow to about half of the double-digit increase we saw last year. The thinking was that inventory would increase from record-low levels and put an end to the bidding wars that have driven home prices up over the past twelve months. However, that increase in inventory has yet to materialize. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that there are currently 410,000 fewer single-family homes available for sale than there were at this time last year. This has forced those who made appreciation forecasts this past January to amend those projections. The Mortgage Bankers Association , Fannie Mae , Freddie Mac , the National Association of Realtors , and Zelman & Associates have all adjusted their numbers upward after reviewing first quarter housing data. Here are their original forecasts and their newly updated projections: Even with the increases, the updated projections still don’t

744 SHARES 572 65 5 102 The question many homebuyers are facing this year is , “Why is it so hard to find a house?”  We’re in the ultimate  sellers’ market , which means real estate is ultra-competitive for buyers right now. The  National Association of Realtors  (NAR) notes homes are getting an average of  4.8 offers  per sale, and that number keeps rising. Why? It’s because there are so few houses for sale. Low inventory in the housing market isn’t new, but it’s becoming more challenging to navigate. Danielle Hale,  Chief Economist at realtor.com ,  explains : “ The housing market is still relatively under supplied , and buyers can’t buy what’s not for sale. Relative to what we saw in 2017 to 2019,  March 2021 was still roughly 117,000 new listings lower, adding to the pre-existing early-year gap of more than 200,000 fresh listings that would typically have come to market in January or February . Despite this week’s gain from a year ago, we’re 19 percent below the new seller activity

  554 SHARES 403 62 3 86 Last week’s  Existing Home Sales Report  from the  National Association of Realtors  (NAR) shows sales have dropped by 3.7% compared to the month before. This is the second consecutive month that sales have slumped. Some see this as evidence that the red-hot real estate market may be cooling. However, there could also be a simple explanation as to why existing home sales have slowed –  there aren’t enough homes to buy . There are currently  410,000  fewer single-family homes available for sale than there were at this time last year. Lawrence Yun,  Chief Economist  at NAR, explains in the report: “The sales for March would have been measurably higher, had there been more inventory. Days-on-market are swift, multiple offers are prevalent, and buyer confidence is rising.” Yun’s insight was supported the next day when the  Census Bureau  released its  Monthly New Residential Sales Report . It shows that  newly constructed home sales are up 20.7% over the previous m

       Good Morning!      The first quarter of 2021 realized an annual rate increase of 12.3% in total existing-home sales from a year ago according to the National Association of Realtors  This Week in Real Estat e . Time on market decreased 38% to just eighteen (18) days in March 2021 compared to twenty-nine (29) days in March 2020. An astounding 83% of homes sold in March were on the market for less than a month. Below  are a few newsworthy events from the  third week of April  that influence our business:            *  Housing Market Reaches Record-High Home Price and Gains in March.   The month of March saw record-high home prices and gains. While each of the four major U.S. regions experienced month-over-month drops, all four areas welcomed year-over-year gains in home sales. Total existing-home sales, completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, decreased 3.7% from February to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 6.01 million in Ma

Some Highlights In a recent  article , Lawrence Yun,  Chief Economist  for the  National Association of Realtors  (NAR), discussed the state of today’s housing market. When addressing whether or not today’s high buyer competition and rising home prices are evidence of a housing bubble, Yun said that this “is not a bubble. It is simply lack of supply.” Today’s housing market is healthy, and rising prices are driven by real buyer demand. Contact a local real estate professional to learn the best ways to navigate such an energetic market.