The California Association of Realtors has been very vocal about their displeasure surrounding recent bulk REO sales in the state due to taking masses of potential inventory out of the market (and Realtor commissions) but is the current ‘lack’ of inventory really a bad thing for San Diego real estate?
Some home buyers are certainly finding it tough to get their offers accepted but those with extreme claims of submitting 80 to 100 offers in the last year without landing a deal are certainly the exception and may definitely want to re-consider the types of offers they are making. After all there are still around 5,300 homes publicly listed on the market in San Diego County today. Plus this doesn’t even count what could be 3 times that in shadow REO inventory and much, much more in delinquent home loans which are moving through the foreclosure process.
The San Diego Association of Realtors reports local home inventory has dipped for 15 months in a row and is well down from 2009 but that doesn’t necessarily mean we are in trouble. Certainly 2008 and 2009 were years of ridiculously high inventory levels anyway. Californians ought to be happy about the health of the local real estate market and be very happy about how much better it is than much of the rest of the U.S.
Obviously real estate agents would always love to have more homes to sell and commissions to make but a healthy market and rising home prices is certainly more important. Besides, while inventory may seem low now there are plenty of foreclosures in the works and as prices rise home builders will release more inventory and more sellers will rise above water and will sell their homes, creating balance.
Most significantly there is still a long way to go before San Diego real estate prices hit their previous lofty highs and tighter inventory levels will help speed that up.
This may be a challenging time for some regular buyers but it is an increasingly fantastic time for sellers and a sweet time for flipping houses for sure.
