Why Right Now May Be the Time to Sell Your House
The housing market made an incredible recovery in 2020 and is now positioned for an even stronger year in 2021. Record-low mortgage interest rates are a driving factor in this continued momentum, with average rates hovering at historic all-time lows.
According to the latest Realtors Confidence Index Survey from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), buyer demand across the country is incredibly strong. That’s not the case, however, on the supply side. Seller traffic is simply not keeping up. Here’s a breakdown by state:
As the maps show, buyer traffic is high, but seller traffic is low. With so few homes for sale right now, record-low inventory is creating a mismatch between supply and demand.
NAR also just reported that the actual number of homes currently for sale stands at 1.28 million, down 22% from one year ago (1.64 million). Additionally, inventory is at an all-time low with 2.3 months supply available at the current sales pace. In a normal market, that number would be 6.0 months of inventory – significantly higher than it is today.
2020 single-family home sales, specifically on the Big Island of Hawaii, are up over 9% from 2019 with 2,654 sales in 2020 compared to 2,433 in 2019. Volume for those same home sales is up over 27% with more than 1.748 billion dollars closing on the Big Island in what was expected to be a difficult pandemic year. The Big Island also saw a total of 97 sales above the $3 million luxury benchmark in 2020, up significantly from the 56 sales of 2019.
So, what does this mean for buyers and sellers?
Buyers need to remain patient in the search process. At the same time, they must be ready to act immediately once they find the right home since bidding wars are more common when so few houses are available for sale.
Sellers may not want to wait until spring to put their houses on the market, though. Looking again at the map above, the demand for Hawaii real estate is strong, but the Seller Traffic Index shows Hawaii inventory falling short. Take advantage of this, and strike while the market is hot. Get your listing out now. With such high buyer demand and such a low supply, now is the perfect time to sell a house on your terms.
Bottom Line
The real estate market is entering the year like a lion. There’s no indication it will lose that roar, assuming inventory continues to come to market.