Good news: Home sales in the West are starting to increase; Bad news: Buyers are already experiencing a shortage of homes for sale in the area.
A recent report from the National Association of Realtors shows that the West has seen the highest number of homes under contract in February, states Realtor.com. According to the report, the West has seen an increase in the number of residences under contract for sale in February, which was 29 percent higher than January and 5.1 percent higher than February 2015.
The country was divided into four regions and ranked and scored according to the number of homes under contract. A score of 100 was given to indicate a sale of roughly 5 million homes under contract.
The Midwest received a score of 119.6, which was 61.4 percent higher than its score in January. This means that buyers are definitely switching from renting to owning because of the favorable conditions in the market and economy.
"Two factors-low inventories and tight credit-will limit the gains we will see in 2016," said the publication's chief economist Jonathan Smoke.
This, however, should still be taken as a good sign as the upcoming season is predicted to be one of "busiest season of sales since 2006." While things are looking favorably on the sellers' side, the same cannot be said for the buyers' side.
As more buyers flock the market looking for a new house, this has led to a shortage in the number of homes for sale in the Midwestern area.
"When homes come up on the market, if they're not overpriced, they are selling oftentimes in a matter of hours with multiple offers," said real estate agent Judy Dooley.
Home sales in the West are definitely a huge turnover for the real estate market. As previously reported on Realty Today, fewer existing homes were sold in February despite the increase in demand for houses.
The drop, however, was said to be due to the weather and conditions of the stock market. With the stabilization of the stock market and lowered mortgage interest rates, sellers should expect to receive more offers in the coming days.
