Something Old, Something New

Earlier this week, the following story was reported by Redfin’s Investor relations group.

I’m not going to lie, I was a little bit surprised.

“One-third (33.4%) of single-family homes for sale in the U.S. in the first quarter were newly built, essentially unchanged from a year earlier but down from a record-high 34.5% two years earlier.

The portion of housing supply that’s newly built is still roughly double pre-pandemic levels.

Newly built homes have taken up an outsized portion of inventory since the pandemic homebuying boom sent builders into overdrive. There are two main reasons for that:

• Homebuilding has shot up. Construction of U.S. homes soared at the start of the pandemic, with builders responding to sky-high homebuying demand brought on by remote work and rock-bottom mortgage rates, and single-family housing starts are still sitting at significantly higher levels than pre-2020.
• The supply of existing homes for sale has dropped. Homeowners are staying put because mortgage rates hit a two-decade high last year, and they’re still elevated far above pre-pandemic and pandemic levels. Many would-be sellers are opting to hang onto their low rate instead of moving and taking on a new one.”

As someone who specializes in helping homeowners sell their existing houses for the most amount of money possible, this is not great news. I wonder when the impact of all those new homes will hit existing home sales and prices. We all know that builders view their inventory strictly as a product that must be sold so they can keep building. With no emotional attachment, they are ready willing and able to offer all kinds of price and mortgage rate cuts. Obviously, the existing home market does not operate that way.

Having said that, our local existing home market has remained relatively buoyant.

Why?

In a word, INFLATION. Trillions and Trillions of dollars inflating bubbles in real estate, stocks, precious metals and crypto just to name a few.

According to our Government, they want to bring inflation under control…but do they, really? I don’t think so, and I can and will explain why.

Next week: The Government’s dirty little secret about inflation, and why it almost certainly will get worse.

I know, I can be a real Debbie Downer some times, but for now just relax and prepare for a great long weekend at the beach, the lake or in the yard.

Remember, right now we are squarely in “selling season” so if you are thinking about waiting a few months to put your home on the market, you may want to rethink that and give me a call.

Happy Memorial Day to all!

Sal Busacca, Realtor

BetterCallSal@kw.com

864 952-7251

$465,000

201 Redmont Court, Simpsonville, SC 29680

4 BR’s 4 Baths 3200 SF

Listing Courtesy Of: Rick Angell, Keller Williams Greenville Central

Property Description

DUAL OWNER SUITES! MASTER ON MAIN! Seller offering up to $15,000.00 in concessions to assist in closing costs, buy points, and/or other costs! This beautiful home in the heart of Simpsonville sits on a 0.25 acre lot and has over 3,300 sf, featuring a 288 sf owner suite on the main level and a 224 sqf bedroom suite upstairs. Ideal for a live-in sitter, maturing….

Your Business Here!

1100 HWY 86, Piedmont, SC
This is a great family owned business for the last 30 years or so. They have the absolute best propane refill prices anywhere I know of!They are a complete hardware store as well, with trailer parts, lawn and garden supplies, RV and boat supplies, and fishing equipment.Please support our local businesses!
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