Missed Opportunity

As the San Mateo County (CA) rebounds a very interesting phenomenon has surfaced. Buyers who at the outset of their home search had an apparently generous selection of homes to choose from are now finding very few new listings coming on the market. Several home buyers have expressed disappointment at the short supply of new listings meeting their acquisition criteria. Once they rejected the homes in the inventory pool, the only new homes to consider are the new listings. As newly initiated sales (pending sales) exceed the number of new listings, the choices become fewer and fewer.

The inventory of homes is a fluid process. Believing that there is a new listing priced lower, in better condition and located in a more desirable neighborhood can lead to missed opportunity. In a resurgent market, the best home may be the one you passd on.