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Housing Invintory Is Larger Than Most Think

Posted Saturday, January 24, 2009

The numbers are posted each and every month. The national association of realtors, moodys economic data providers and many other companies and associations provide vital real estate statistics to the public. The question is, how reliable are the statistics and what do they mean.

Anyone who has taken a statistics math class or who deals with statistic calculations and analysis will tell you, statistics can tell two different stories to two different people. It is kind of similar in looking at a glass of water and explaining to someone the glass is half full or half empty.

The statistics I am focusing on today is the number of home for sale on the market. This is a vital number when it comes to real estate statistics as many other numbers are calculated from this one. Specifically the number of months of inventory that are on the market, nationally and locally. Many real estate agents will tell you when the number of houses on the market for sale equals 6 months on inventory, we are in a good market.

Some areas currently have over 12 months of inventory on the market in their local area. This definitely tells a story of a buyers market. Then there are other areas who have seen the inventory drop from 18 months to 5 months. This gets people excited as they are thinking the real estate market has turned in their area.

One very large factor the number of homes for sale on the market does not account for is other homes for sale that are not listed with a real estate agent and that do not show up on the MLS. These are homes that are being sold for sale by owner or homes that have been reposesed by the mortgage companies and have not yet been listed.

There are literary thousands of homes across the nation that do not get accounted for in real estate statistics. What this means is you can not always rely on the story you think the statistics are telling you, especially in the case of number of homes for sale.

So do yourself a favor and look at other ways to help you sell your house before you have to put it on the market and become part of another statistic. Contact a local real estate buyer in your area and receive a free offer from them.

They will come to your house, meet with you personally, and give you an offer for your house. Even if you do not like the offer you receive you will then at least know what your home is worth and then you can either sell for sale by owner or list with a real estate agent.