More prospective buyers reported expectations that housing availability will improve in the third quarter, citing more for-sale inventory and less competition from buyers priced-out by higher mortgage rates. According to the NAHB’s Housing Trends Report, 37% of buyers expect the home search to get easier in the coming months, up from 17% and 22% in the first and second quarter, respectively.
In contrast, 59% expect the search to get harder/stay the same, down from 74% and 67% in the first two quarters of 2022.
Housing availability expectations improved in all regions of the country in the third quarter of 2022. In the Northeast, 44% of buyers expect easier conditions, up from 28% in the second quarter. In the Midwest, the share rose from 14% to 33%; in the South, from 18% to 23%; and in the West, from 31% to 52%.
Another way to measure buyers’ perceptions of housing inventory is to ask them if they are seeing more/fewer/the same number of homes for-sale* in their markets. In the third quarter of 2022, 36% of buyers reported seeing more homes, up from 23% and 28% in the first two quarters of the year.
