In many markets, there are just not enough homes for sale to meet buyer demand.
“More than two-thirds of the markets are seeing less inventory now compared to a year ago,” says Jonathan Smoke, realtor.com®’s chief economist. “Tight credit and limited new construction are clearly at play.”
Realtor.com®’s research team scoured the data to find the locales facing the most severe housing crunch. Of the 150 largest markets, realtor.com® pinpointed where inventories of homes are the lowest and where the problem is worsening too (by accounting for the percentage decrease in for-sale homes from 2015 to 2016). Here are the cities that topped its list:
1. Seattle, Wash.
- Percentage of housing stock for sale: 0.4%
- Decrease in for-sale homes in 2016: 13.4%
2. Eugene, Ore.
- Percentage of housing stock for sale: 0.6%
- Decrease in for-sale homes in 2016: 27.3%
3. Grand Rapids, Mich.
- Percentage of housing stock for sale: 0.7%
- Decrease in for-sale homes in 2016: 24.7%
4. Buffalo, N.Y.
- Percentage of housing stock for sale: 0.6%
- Decrease in for-sale homes in 2016: 15.9%
5. Fort Wayne, Ind.
- Percentage of housing stock for sale: 0.8%
- Decrease in for-sale homes in 2016: 24.9%
6. Sacramento, Calif.
- Percentage of housing stock for sale: 0.6%
- Decrease in for-sale homes in 2016: 5.5%
7. Detroit, Mich.
- Percentage of housing stock for sale: 1%
- Decrease in for-sale homes in 2016: 25.7%
Source: “Sold Out: These 10 U.S. Cities Have the Biggest Housing Shortages,” realtor.com® (Jan. 16, 2017)
