The inventory of homes for sale has been recovering for a while now. In fact, according to one analysis from the National Association of Realtors’ consumer website, it’s grown from year-before levels for 28-consecutive months as of February. But while there are certainly more homes for sale than there were, the pace of the recovery has started to cool. Danielle Hale, the website’s chief economist, says it also varies from one region to the next. “Inventory has improved for more than two years, but the momentum has faltered in recent months,” Hale said. “Supply gains have been concentrated in the South and West and skewed toward homes priced below $500,000. While the Northeast and Midwest have seen growth, they remain significantly undersupplied. As we move toward the spring buying season with mortgage rates near 3.5-year lows, a key question is whether this thaw spurs more buyers or more sellers.” The answer will determine, in part, where home prices and the housing market heads from here. (source)
