Supply and demand. That has always been the driving force in real estate. If too much supply and too few buyers, prices will fall, and properties will take much longer to sell and sell at a discounted price. This was displayed in the recession of 2008. Fast forward to 2021, and supply is at an all-time low with the buyer population at an all-time high. To add to today’s frenzied market, interest rates are at an all-time low. These are more “all-times” never seen in the long history of this country’s housing market.

Housing supply is quantified by pundits as in monthly supply. In other words, let’s take the recession of 2008 as our example. At that time there was up to a 13-month housing inventory. This means that if no other homes come on the market, it would take 13 months to sell every property. In our current market we have about 2.1 months of housing supply. You guessed it, that means if no other homes enter the marketplace, it would take 2.1 months to sell every property currently listed. A balanced market, that is where neither buyer nor seller have an advantage is at 6 months inventory.

I have had the fortune to be at ground zero as to the pace of homes entering the market as I work primarily on the selling side of our market. Yes, I do work with buyers also, but my main business is to list homes and get them to a closing. Therefore, I have a good feel for the market in real time. Our media is typically two months behind as to what has sold since it takes about that long for a property to sell and be closed.

My instincts tell me that the real estate market is starting to shift. Buyers have had a miserable time trying to find a home let alone get an accepted offer. Many or most buyers have submitted multiple offers only to get rejected because the winning offer had no contingencies and was 10% over asking! That is right, many buyers have decided the only way they could finally be the chosen offer would be to waive or forgo a home inspection, and in many cases pay cash. It is hard to compete when you are faced with a decision to bypass a home inspection which is NEVER recommended! How many buyers have cash to purchase their first home…did you?

I am happy for my sellers over the last 2-3 years, especially this year. We have listed their homes, had multiple offers, and homes selling on the first weekend at over asking prices in many cases. My goal when listing a home is to get the best price in the shortest time with the least number of contingencies. This has been the norm because of the low inventory and high buyer demand which I described in the beginning of this article. What is changing?

In the last month, I have received more calls from would-be sellers, and put more properties on the market then I have ever experienced in my over 40-year career. As I stated earlier, I am at the vanguard, at the epicenter of real estate inventory. Most of my clients are over 60 years of age, so this may be significant only to this group. Too early to tell. But if this is the case among all agents, we are seeing a shift in the market. We may have reached the peak of price point. This is not to say prices will fall precipitously, but it may be the start of a very gradual movement to the center where there is a balance between buyers and sellers. It is said that a home is perfectly priced when both buyer and seller go to a closing and are both upset and disappointed at the final sales price. That makes sense, in that neither party had the advantage over the other.

My advice to those of you who have been waiting to move but did not want to lose out on home appreciation, is to think about making your move sooner than later. There is still plenty of time to decide, but you do not want to look back wishing you had sold at the peak when sellers called the shots. I realize that many of you want to sell but there is not enough inventory to purchase your new home or condominium. That may change in the next few months. I keep in close contact with our local senior communities and they are telling me that their traffic is significantly higher than previous months. If you are thinking of making a move to a senior community, I wouldn’t wait as you may now sell at the high plus have a great choice as to the apartment’s view, and location. You don’t want to wait so long that you are confronted with a waiting list at the senior community you have had your eye on.

In summary, the real estate market is constantly moving, sometimes at a snail’s pace, sometimes overnight. Professionals who are actively involved in their disciplines are the ones to listen to. We often hear stories from our neighbors and friends as to what the fact are. Listen to the experts in any field and your decisions will be based on facts rather than fiction.

On a side note, thank you all so much for reading my articles and giving me your input and sharing your stories. If there is a subject you would like me to cover, please email to: Bruce@BrucesTeam.com.