The data team at Realtor says the number of properties available for sale in the United States has reached a nearly historic all-time low. After looking at statistics from the popular real estate website, the team calculated the total amount of residential square footage lost in the 50 largest metropolitan areas. Minneapolis has lost the equivalent of more than two Mall of Americas, a 4.9 million square foot structure. Realtor’s Lance Lambert has more details on what they found.
The total number of homes for sale is about as low as it's ever been. Inventory listed on realtor.com in the first six months of 2018 is 18.2% lower than the same period in 2015. The sheer number of homes on the market in January 2018 was only 6.2 million, according to U.S. Census—a gigantic drop-off from the 14.3 million total in January 2009. Current inventory levels are comparable with what they were in the early '60s, when the Census started collecting the data and the U.S. had roughly half its current population.
The shrinking number of homes available means more bidding wars, bigger price hikes, and less selection. And this isn't something that is limited to a handful of places. Of the 50 largest markets, 39 saw a decrease in inventory over the past three years.
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