Where have all the houses gone? Why are we having low inventory in the Ocean City, Maryland, and Delaware real estate market?
The answers might surprise you.
Ryan Haley, broker and owner of Atlantic Shores Sotheby’s International Realty, tackles the often-asked question: where have all the houses gone, and why do we not see more houses on the market?
One of the top reasons for this is the lack of new construction over the last 10 years. In fact, the decade between 2010 and 2019 saw the least number of new homes constructed over the 50 years.
Just to give you an overview, in the decade between 2000 and 2009, there were over 12 million homes constructed, whereas between 2010 and 2019, the number of construction was half of that at just over 6 million.
What does it mean? It means that we actually have a severe lack of housing units, in general. That is why when we look at residential rentals, resale properties, and new construction, there is just not enough supply. The demand, in relation to population increases, is far outpacing the supply that is available.
Will inventory soar, with lots of properties hitting the market and prices dropping? Based on the numbers, this is not likely to happen. In fact, Ryan feels that we are going to continue to see this rise in property prices in the immediate future.
Therefore, if you are waiting for the prices to go down, you could be waiting for a considerable amount of time.
If you want more information about our real estate market situation here in the coastal Maryland and Delaware regions, please feel free to reach out to us. We’ll be happy to discuss all the aspects of the market with you.