Housing Supply Jumps Sharply

I have been reporting for some time the increase in the number of homes for sale, Year over Year (YOY) in Essex County (see charts below) but first I want to highlight the big jump in the numbers just this week as we head into the spring selling season.

Here are the numbers for the 34 cities and towns of Essex County:

That’s right, a 16% increase in the number of Single Family Homes(SFH) for sale and 8 % increase in the number of Condos in just 4 days!

More inventory means more choices for buyers at a time when mortgage rates are back near 4% after flirting with 5% as recently as last November.

Now, here are the charts for the last 3/4 years. The supply of SFHs in April increased, YOY, for the 10th consecutive month.

Condos
And the supply of condos for sale increased, YOY, for the 11th consecutive month.

Comment
In late December in Is a recession coming soon? I wrote: “the likelihood for 2019 is a slowing, but still growing, economy and a stable housing market.” Recent economic data confirms that the US economy remains on the path of steady growth. What has changed since December is that the 30 year Fixed Rate Mortgage is close to 4% vs 4.5% then.