Dude, Where’s My House?!

Are you looking for your first home in the Greater Seattle area, and feel like there’s nothing out there?  Many first time home buyers are confused when they start to look for a home and find that there doesn’t seem to be much available inventory.  When they do finally find a house they like, they lose it to a higher bidder.  They say, “I thought this was a buyer’s market?!”

It could be because available housing inventory is down about 36% from this time last year! (see “10 Major Housing Markets with the Shortest Supply of Homes” ).  Yup, there are a third less homes for sale, which means the supply MAY NOT support the existing demand.  Many buyers are starting to feel like we’re at the bottom, so not only is supply short, but demand may be increasing as well.

But what about all those foreclosed homes, you say?  Yes, many economists have been speculating that we may continue to see further depreciation due to the fact that banks may still have “shadow” inventory that they need to liquidate.  So if more homes come on the market, then the increased supply could satisfy demand, meaning you’ll have more homes to chose from, right?

What if those foreclosed homes never hit the open market?  We are at a point (at least in Seattle) where it may actually be cheaper to own than rent.  Especially if you put down a decent amount of money, and make improvements to the property.  Investors have been picking up on this trend and are buying up houses by the THOUSANDS as a means to create cash flow from rents, as well as deal with less volatility than investing in the stock market (see “Investors Purchase Homes by the Thousands” ).

You can still find a great deal on a home if you’re aware of the current trends in the housing market.  But trying to find a home without this added information, is like looking for a needle in a hay stack…and then once you find the needle, you give it to someone else, because you were NOT AWARE it was the only needle!  If you’re looking for your first home in the Greater Seattle area, and would like to get educated before moving forward please go to our Calendar/Reservations page and register for one of our FREE First Time Home Buyer workshops.

Share

Comments are closed.