More sellers not selling

[VMH2507]

Where I live there is probably a substantial "shadow" inventory, because there are very few houses on the market, in comparison with what I am reading on this forum for other areas of the country. Maybe this will mean that we will take a hit at a later time when other markets are recovering. Or maybe we will come out relatively unscathed. Who knows! I do know that there is planned large scale relocation into my area and I think that is an explanation of why so few resale homes have gone on the market during the last year. I guess only time will tell.

[middle-aged mom]

Originally Posted by cohdane

I guess I see the shadow inventory as a negative because it means the inventory problem (which feeds the price problem) won't go back to "normal" any time soon.

Between sellers who pull their listings because they're holding out for a price, banks who won't list foreclosures because they don't want to realize a loss and the run-of-the-mill folks who would've listed this year and last, but are "just holding off for a while"....there's a huge bottle neck of inventory building up.

So when the current inventory "clears," this shadow inventory will once again swamp the market and causes prices to stagnate or drop.

I don't wish pain on anyone. It's the prolonging it that makes me crazy.

I want stability. And I'm impatient.

This is the ole need versus want thing.

Some buyers face serious consequences if they do not sell and therefore they need to do so.

Selling because one wants to do so, is discretionary. There are no consequences other than not being able to do what one wants to do, when one wants to do it. ( Darn it. Hate it when that happens)

If those in the want to sell camp can't sell for what they need to achieve their goals or want, they are likely to withdraw from the market and stay put. This is what the majority of folk have done when previous geographical bubbles burst.

I can think of some geographical areas historically vulnerable to bubbles, where the sellers have been far more inclined to pull in their horns and stay put. Not all of Florida, California or Rome, for that matter, is burning.

I am also aware of many homes in your neck of the woods as well as my own, that have been " testing the waters" on again/off again for more than 5 years. Serial sellers, like this exist in all markets, all the time. They serve a purpose because they sell other people's homes. Bless their souls.