Black Knight Sees Dwindling Single-Family Home Inventory In Major Markets
Black Knight has released a complimentary white paper analyzing dwindling single-family home inventory in major markets across the United States. The paper delves into the causal factors contributing to low inventories – a key driver in the nation’s growing housing affordability crisis. Black Knight monitors available home inventories as part of its HomePriceTrends platform. Market Condition Ratings (MCR), which include home inventory data, are among the more than 200 reports designed to meet the valuation needs of real estate professionals, lenders, brokers and investment bankers, as well as anyone who requires fast, reliable and cost-effective residential property market information and data.
“Historically, markets maintaining four to six months of inventory would have been defined as being in equilibrium,” said Michael Sklarz, managing director of the Collateral Analytics division of Black Knight. “Not only have overall months of remaining inventory (MRI) figures converged toward less than two months in recent years, but higher-priced homes – which have historically required substantially more time to sell – have been in increasingly short supply.”
The paper includes HomePriceTrends MRI data for the nation’s top 200 home sales markets and discusses seven factors contributing to current extreme market conditions, including would-be sellers who may be afraid to list their current home for fear of being unable to find a suitable replacement.
“We don’t know how long the housing market will remain in a state of seller paralysis,” Sklarz continued. “But to the extent that low inventories become the new normal, buyers will need to enhance their search and offer strategies. Agents and brokers will need to become adept at using technology – on both sides of the purchase transaction – to ensure they are providing buyers and sellers with the most current and accurate information.”
View the complimentary white paper “Trending Toward Zero.”
The Place for Lending Visionaries and Thought Leaders. We take you beyond the latest news and trends to help you grow your lending business.
