Watching the numbers is critical for understanding your strategy when buying and selling a home. Two numbers that I have been very interested in as of late are active listings and pending listings. Allow me to explain.
Active Listings are listings that are on the market, and anyone still has the chance to purchase.
Pending listings are houses that are on the market, and another party has put it under contract, saying that they have the intent to purchase (or close) on it.
As of this writing there are 3,287 active listings in the Des Moines Multiple Listing Service, and 2,504 pending listings.
A couple of things to note with these numbers: The first is that there are about the same number of active listings as two weeks ago, and about 150 less pending listings as of two weeks ago. This tells me a few things:
Things are moving toward slowing down. Having a pending number that close to active is crazy. Usually a house is only pending for 30-45 days. That means in the past 30-45 days, probably about 80% of those houses sold. Losing 75 houses per week on average means that buyers are out in less force, and (according to history) will only continue to be this time of year.
So if you are a buyer and frustrated with how fast houses are moving, the good news is that the market is trending your direction. If you are a seller, it means that less houses are coming on the market, since the active number is not going up while the pending number is going down.
So what does this really mean to you?
Buyers – The fast market of 2016 is slowing down right now. There is still a higher number of inventory than normal (5,791 versus the norm of 5,000 around this time of year). You will have more time for houses being on the market and you will still have incredibly cheap mortgages. So things are looking good for you.
Sellers – Inventory is trending down, which means that you will have less competition. Great! At the same time, buyers are trending down, which means that you will be competing for a buyer with less of them available to you. My recommendation is to get on the market now, instead of waiting for this trend to continue.
I know that my clients want me to be fully informed. I stay on top of the market, my client’s wants, and what is going on in each micro-market that I work in. If you like having a skilled professional in your corner. You can reach me at 515.639.0047 or via email.
~Ryan Lynch
