These headlines are incredibly misleading because they omit the most important part of the home sales data. There was a severe lack of inventory last year.
Last year's housing market was like a supermarket with nothing on the shelves. You can only sell a product when the product is for sale.
According to the National Association of REALTORS®, since 2000, there have been about 2.2 million homes for sale at any given moment. Last year, there were only about a million.
So, of course, home sales dropped. Not because housing is weak - but because sellers aren't selling. There are still more buyers than homes for sale, and at the current sales pace, every MLS-listed home would get sold by April.
It is still a seller's market. The best thing you can do as a buyer is get pre-approved for your mortgage and be ready to bid on a home.
Pre-approved buyers do better.
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Happy Homebuying!
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