You would not know it by driving through much of Lakewood Ranch, but the weakest link in the housing market is new construction according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Due to the Pandemic, there are still many homebuilders that are being conservative by staying on the sidelines.
The Chief Economist for NAR is projecting the lowest level of housing starts by home builders since 2015 this year. Of course, this is primarily Pandemic driven. The current lack of inventory on the market is a significant bottleneck to home sales. Unfortunately, it does not look like new construction will not be opening that bottleneck as much as we would like.
Americans created 11.4 million households in the decade ending in 2019, according to Census data. Builders sold 5.2 million single-family homes during that time. In the prior decade, they sold 10.4 million new houses, according to government data. The mismatch from 2010-2019 tightened housing supply.
Shortages of homes at some price points were hurting the market well before the Pandemic. However, it has only gotten worse since the Pandemic has taken hold. While none of the above should make you jump to or run from the real estate market, it does continue to highlight the value of a quality real estate professional on your side. As always, feel free to contact me with any questions.