Lack of (new) inventory frustrates San Carlos home buyers…

June 9, 2009

frustrate

frustrate

Slim Pickings

If you have been keeping an eye on the Inventory Analysis section of the San Carlos Week in Review series that I run on the blog, you've undoubtedly noticed that the number of single family homes for sale in San Carlos has dropped steadily over the past month.   As recently as May 2, there were 70 homes for sale in San Carlos — today there are only 51.

The fact that inventory in San Carlos ebbs and flows as market conditions change is not a revelation.    Most recently, many buyers took advantage of insanely low interest rates and a soft market and went on a mini buying spree of sorts in May.   The rate of new listings simply hasn't been great enough replenish the supply.    The result? There's not much left to pick through.

Not just less inventory, but older inventory…

What's frustrating buyers the most isn't necessarily the lack of inventory as much as the lack of NEW inventory.   If we take a closer look at the 51 homes that are currently on the market, here are some eye-opening numbers:

  • 90: Average days on the market for all 51 homes.
  • 86% :  The percentage of these homes that have been on the market for 3 weeks or longer.
  • 4:  # of new listings — those that have been on the market for 14 days or less.   (This figure does not include those homes that are making repeat trips to the MLS to appear as if they're new listings.)

What does this mean?   For those home buyers who are actively shopping in San Carlos, they have seen everything there is to see….probably several times over. They're getting frustrated because they're finally ready to buy, and there's nothing out there that they want to spend their money on.   It's the primary reason why some new listings are getting snatched up within days of hitting the market, often before the first open house.

Unfortunately, it's also forcing buyers to look outside of San Carlos and into surrounding communities like Belmont and Redwood City to find the right home for them.   More on that tomorrow….

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