Where are the houses for sale?

There were fewer houses listed for sale in the second quarter of this year (454) than at any comparable period of the last seven years. According to the Washington Center for Real Estate Research, listings were down nearly 30% from 2020 (642)—and 2020 was half of the listings in previous years (1201 listings in Q2 2019)!

When Realtors say that the purchase market is competitive, they’re not kidding! There’s less than a month of inventory—in other words, if every listed property sold with no new listings added, it would take less than a month for everything to be sold.

What’s this mean for you? It depends on whether you’re a Buyer or Seller. If you’re a Buyer, you better have your team lined up and ready to jump. That team can include: Realtor, lender, home inspector, insurance agent, and attorney. If you’re a Seller, make sure you use a Realtor to represent you in valuing your property using up-to-date comparable sales, and helping you to get it ready for sale, knowing that you won’t have the luxury of listing it for sale while you finish up a project. You better be ready for showings the minute it “goes live.” If you price it right, it will sell quickly.

Sellers: make sure your Realtor obtains a title report in preparation for your listing—it’s as important as pulling the weeds from the front porch. That way, you can make sure that there are no issues that will delay a closing, like unresolved title matters involving divorce or death, unrecorded gifts or unknown judgments or liens. We’ve encountered properties passed from grandparents to parents to grandchildren, all without deeds. Properties can be encumbered by loans long paid off, judgments that a debtor may not realize affect their property, or  problems with the documentation of previous transactions or access easements.

That’s why, whether Buyer or Seller, you’ll want to have a quality title company involved in your purchase or sale. We discover these problems and, better still, help to get them corrected. Clark County Title takes pride in the professionalism of our staff, the depth of experience and our willingness to assist. In a competitive real estate market, we strive to provide the very best service possible to Realtors, lenders, and the principals to the transaction. We work as a team with other professionals to help you achieve your goals.

Let us be a part of your real estate team to make this end-of-summer a great season to buy, sell or refinance. Please call our friendly, professional staff—we’re ready to serve you and happy to help!
Scott