low inventory

While mortgage rates remain sky-high – the highest in two decades – that’s certainly not the only factor keeping homes from being affordable. Experts point to low inventory – down 2 percent in October compared to October, 2022 and a whopping 42.4 percent compared to the pre-COVID-19 levels of 2017 and 2019.

And while new home construction is slowly increasing, its not nearly enough to offset the current low inventory.

Analysts agree that current homeowners are not putting their properties on the market due to the high mortgage rates. And that, many insist, will not drastically change any time soon.

In what has become a national trend – Zillow reports that homes for sale in the United States have dropped nearly 40 percent in the last two years – the Bay Area saw houses on the market drop approximately 27 percent in December from the previous year.

Of course, this is reflected in prices continuing to skyrocket as multiple bids continue to proliferate.

Many would-be buyers are reporting “buyers fatigue” and real estate agents are exhausted as they try to find suitable homes for their clients.