Housing market conditions have changed drastically over the past couple of years but some things have remained constant. The pace of home sales, for example. The vast majority of homes for sale are still selling in less than a month. In fact, according to new numbers from the National Association of Realtors, 72 percent of homes sold in August were on the market less than 30 days, with the typical home selling in 20 days. That’s slower than last year but only by a few days. The reason? The inventory of homes for sale remains low, leading homes for sale to go quickly. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, says low inventory is also the reason home prices continue to increase. “Home prices continue to march higher despite lower home sales,” Yun said. “Supply needs to essentially double to moderate home price gains.” As long as the inventory of homes for sale remains low, home prices will continue to move higher and the homes that are for sale will find buyers quickly. (source)
