You have been waiting for the right time. Interest rates are low and money is inexpensive; you've managed to save enough for a down payment and your long term employment prospects are the best they have been in years. You're ready to buy your house and you have decided to call South Pasadena home.
Only there is one problem: You cannot find the house you want because the current supply of homes for sale is very, very low.
If you thought the new iPad is hard to find, have you tried searching for a home in South Pasadena?
Lack of Inventory is Hurting Home SalesWe are seeing a marked contrast to this time last year when there was an abundance of homes for sale. The first quarter of the year is usually very slow in terms of home sales. Housing inventory typically builds while most home buyers put off a serious search until April. This year however, record low interest rates are just too appealing to ignore. Home buyers are concluding that now is the time to sell and trade up. It's unlikely that interest rates are likely to go any lower and home prices seem to have flattened out.
South Pasadena Market Recap
As of today, only 11 single family homes are for sale with a median price of $799,000. Of the homes that are for sale, 7 of them have been on the market for over 3 months and trying to find anything under $600,000 has almost become impossible. Of the 24 recorded single family home sales in the first quarter, 5 were bank owned properties ranging in price from $580.0 to $1.2 million.
The enclosed graphs indicate:
- Where are the homes for sale? - shows the low inventory in the market for the first quarter compared to 2010 and 2011
- Little change in first quarter - comparing the number of units sold is very similar to years '10 and '11
- Inventory of homes - the second quarter is usually categorized by an increase in the number of homes available for sale, but will it materialize this year?
Who would have thought several months ago a housing rebound could be stalled by a lack of homes for sale? That may be just what we see.
