What Housing Inventory Tells Us About the Real Estate Market

Understanding housing inventory is key to understanding what condition the real estate market is in and how you should proceed, whether you’re a buyer or a seller.

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What is housing inventory and why does it matter?

Housing inventory is the total number of homes that are currently for sale on the MLS. That figure represents the active available inventory.

As far as the real estate market goes, it’s important to have a balanced inventory. Buyers and sellers should have equal opportunities to accomplish their objectives. A balanced inventory is considered four to six months’ worth of available homes on the market. For example, if there are fewer than four months of inventory, the market favors sellers. If there are more than six months of inventory, the market favors buyers.

"It’s important to have a balanced inventory."

What’s our current housing inventory like? As of right now, there are 24,000 homes available in Maricopa and Pinal County. That gives us four months’ worth of inventory. Last month, we sold 6,800 homes. The month before that, we sold 8,000. This trend tells me that the market is slightly favoring sellers. If you’re thinking about selling, now is probably the time to do it.

If we can answer any questions you might have about buying or selling real estate, please give us a call or send us an email. We’d love to help you!

Why You Should Ask Your Realtor About Lenders

Should you reach out to a real estate agent before getting a home lender? I recommend doing so for a few different reasons.

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Should you reach out to a real estate agent before getting a home lender? I think the answer is absolutely yes, and there are a few reasons why.

First of all, just like all real estate agents, not all lenders are created equal. Even though the lending process may be the same one larger banks use, the experience you have could be very different depending on the person who handles your loan.

On our team, we vet the lenders we work with. We recommend two incredible lenders: Primary Residential Mortgage and HomeStreet Bank. Both of the lenders that we work with are some of the top 50 loan originators in the country.

"Not all lenders are created equal."

Why does that matter to you? With their experience, these lenders are better suited to get your loan done. You can run into a lot of sticky situations during the loan application process, but these lenders have seen it all and they can get it done.

One of the big misconceptions out there is that big banks are easier to deal with. That is not true; the bigger the bank is, the more bureaucracy you will have to deal with. That actually makes it harder for you to get a loan.

Lastly, because of the volume of business we send our lenders, they are going to treat you well. They will go out of their way to make sure you have the most pain-free experience possible, and they will probably save you some money.

If you have any other questions about buying a home or about real estate in general, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!