The saying used to go, “Location. Location. Location.” Now with shrinking inventory continuing to play a significant role in these upward trends, it will probably be restated to be, “Inventory. Location. Inventory.”

According to the Zillow Report, “It’s common for sellers to receive multiple bids, and in the hottest markets, sell for over asking price, but these conditions will change in the future.”

According to Zillow, among the nation’s largest metropolitan housing markets, Boston, Indianapolis and Kansas City showed the biggest drop in inventory. In Boston there are 26% fewer homes for sale than there were a year ago, and 24% fewer in Indianapolis.
The average price per-square-foot in metro areas has risen 52% over the past five years but it has jumped 76% in the urban cores, according to

Redfin.
Buyers Can Expect to Update
More than half of homeowners who bought in the past year got a place that needed at least some updates, according to a recent Zillow survey.

Slower Won’t Change the Trend
Along with the scarcity of inventory contributing to a temporary slowdown is the rise in mortgage rates.
This compounded with the traditionally slower winter season, sellers and buyers can expect to see less up-ticks in activity than have recently been the case. Redfin reported that the number of home tours fell 3.7% from September, and the number of customers writing offers on homes fell 5.9%.

If you have any questions about this information or title insurance, please contact Ralph Aponte: 732.914.1400.
Counsellors Title Agency, www.counsellorstitle.net, founded in 1996, is one of New Jersey’s most respected title agencies, serving all 21 New Jersey counties with title insurance, clearing title, escrow, tidelands searches, and closing and settlement services for commercial or industrial properties, waterfront properties and marinas, condominiums, townhouses or residential single family homes. Counsellors Title also features its own Attorney Settlement Assistance Program™ [ASAP], which is an individual resource customized to fit the needs specifically of real estate attorneys, including, Documentation, Preparation, Disbursement of Funds, Attendance at Closing, HUD Preparation or Post-Closing Matters.