The spring housing market is heating up and demand is high throughout the country. Some would-be buyers who were outbid this past year or couldn’t locate a home to fit their needs are returning this spring. They’re more determined than ever to buy too. However the competition is going to be steep again this spring.
Be Ready for Some Competition
“Would-be buyers face a dilemma: There will be more homes on the market over per week of the next three to four months, but you’ll also have even more prospective buyers,” says Jonathan Smoke, realtor.com®’s chief economist. “We are entering the busiest season of home buying with the lowest amount of inventory in three years. To be competitive, buyers should get pre-approved for a mortgage and be ready to act quickly if they find a home that meets their needs.”
The median list price nationwide will continue to inch higher and many markets are seeing long-awaited increases to inventories, although those increases been slight, based on realtor.com®’s latest housing report.
“Listings are growing as they normally do this time of the year, but because demand has been growing faster than supply, homes are selling faster,” says Smoke. “So the monthly trend is the normal seasonal pattern, but the year-over-year decline is reflective of demand being stronger than supply for more than a year, which is resulting in fewer homes available and faster-moving inventory.”
The median list price for March is $238,000, up 3 % from last month and 8% higher than a year ago, according to realtor.com®’s preliminary analysis of this month’s data.
This month, there have been 3 % more properties for sale compared to February. The extra inventory is a welcome sign for buyers, but inventories are still 2 percent below what they were a year ago. Which means the inventory crunch continues to be plaguing many housing markets.
Due to these limited inventories, home sold faster in March, spending a median of 77 days on the market. That’s 20 percent faster than last month and 13 % faster than last year, as outlined by realtor.com®’s housing report.
This is why you want to call Nick & Cindy Davis. We have a team of agents ready to find you your new home. We can always be reached by calling us at 813-300-7116 or simply click here and one of us will be in touch.