Number Of Available Homes For Sale Remains Low

If you're shopping for a home to buy and feel like there are fewer options to choose from, you're not imagining it. The number of homes for sale is lower than normal and has been for a while now. How much lower? 

Well, a recent report from Black Knight Financial really puts it in perspective. According to the report, the number of active for-sale listings was down 53 percent year-over-year in April. But since the coronavirus' impact threw the spring market into chaos last year, it's hard to tell what that means. 

So Black Knight compared this year's April inventory to the average number of active listings in 2017-2019. What they found was homes for sale were down about 60 percent from what's been typical in recent history. 

That translates to about 750,000 fewer listings than normal. Ben Graboske, Black Knight's president, says inventory is at a record low. “Data from our Collateral Analytics group showed there was two month's worth of single-family inventory nationwide in March, the lowest share on record and trending downward,” Graboske said. 

For comparison, a six-month supply of homes is considered healthy for the market.