Real Estate Inventory has Doubled!

What does that mean for you?

By Jennifer Hawkins, Hawkins Poe - key2see Team

Gig Harbor’s spring inventory went from a staggering .9 to 1.9 months of supply! Inventory has been a topic of conversation for the last three years, with our absorption level rarely getting above a one-month of supply to the ever-growing population of savvy consumers.

We are pleased to report that our recent statistics show we are entering our busy summer season with double our accustomed amount sitting nicely, with about two months' worth of inventory. 

 More inventory must equal price drops you may think …  Our Gig Harbor real estate market is proving to be resilient of the national woes. Reports of:

1. Slowing markets

2. Raising interest rates

3. Dropping prices

4. Continued limited inventory

This equals both unhappy buyers and sellers.

Here locally, however, we are experiencing most of those trends — except our prices increased 9 percent year-to-date. We are entering our busy season, and the prices have continued to hold firm despite the listed-above turbulence.If your home is your largest asset (for 90 percent of Americans it is), then don’t worry; your equity is sitting safely and securely.

As the boomers continue to age gracefully, we are seeing more and more getting out from under their large family homes and easing into the comfort of a condo lifestyle or finally taking the leap down South for a sizzling snowbird season. What this doubling of inventory allows is for the boomers to get some options that will finally entice movement.

So, what is an absorption rate, and what exactly does it mean to have a month or two of supply?

Let’s break that down. The absorption rate measures how quickly houses are sold. Put simply, the absorption rate is a measure of supply and demand. By taking the number of homes sold in a month and dividing it by the number on the market, you can find a percentage that determines just how quickly a home will sell. So, saying we have less than two months of inventory simply means if you wait 30 to 40 days for the home of your dreams, it will be gone.

Bringing this full circle, we are grateful our special community has shown resilience, and our equity is continuing to be protected. Our local legislature is now testing the waters with new regulations on short-term rentals, so watching that unfold will certainly be a telling tale as to whether we will get some of that inventory added back to our supply — or will the short-term housing trend continue? In our quaint tourist town, we certainly do have a need to short-term rentals still hitting some of the lists of:

1. Best place to retire

2. Top places to raise a family

3. Pierce County being more affordable than King

This continues to bring more and more visitors and consumers to see just what it is we have been keeping a secret down here in the South Sound.