U.S. home inventory drops to record low

U.S. home inventory drops to record low

U.S. home inventory drops to record low
The number of homes listed for sale in the U.S. has fallen to a new all-time low as of last month, according to data from Realtor.com. The volume of properties on the market nationwide dipped below 700,000, down 39.6 percent on a year-over-year basis.

“The shortage of homes for sale has been an ongoing issue for the last couple of years, but in December the combination of the holiday inventory slowdown and the pandemic buying trend cause it to dop below its lowest level in history,” Realtor.com’s Chief Economist Danielle Hale said in a statement. “Looking forward, we could see new lows in the next couple of months as buyers remain relatively active but a surge of new COVID cases may slow the number of sellers entering the market.”

The low level of homes for sale is making it challenging for buyers to find properties and completion is growing fierce.

Today, conforming no-point 30-year fixed mortgage rates are averaging 2.75 percent and 15-year rates are near 2.25 percent.

Do you have a question for Real Estate & Mortgage Analyst Mehran Aram? Submit your queries about a home purchase, refinance, or reverse mortgage via Aramco.biz, social media (#AramcoReport), or over the phone at (866) 381-8888 and your questions may be featured in an upcoming article.