After all, a major reason why it's been so tough for many buyers to purchase a home is because there hasn't been enough homes to meet demand. A lack of inventory — in some of the nation's hottest housing markets, inventory of less than one month has not been uncommon — propelled bidding wars, waived contingencies and soaring home-price appreciation.
In August 2022, the latest data available, for-sale listings were at 968,501 — an improvement from earlier in the pandemic but low on a relative basis. "I think there are a significant number of homeowners who are locked into very, very low mortgage rates, and we’ve seen people who are staying put, living in their homes longer, renovating instead of moving," saidThat means, she continued, inventory will likely remain lower than a balanced market for the next three to potentially eight years, given the average time a household remains in a home is 13 years, according to the National Association of Realtors.
"Interest rates would have to fall in order to incentivize a lot of homeowners who are sitting on sub-4% rates to come back into the market," Marr added.