National and Southern New Hampshire Homes for Sale – Economists Predict Housing Shortage

As a real estate agent in Southern New Hampshire, part of my job is keeping up with current real estate news. Most of the time, I’m largely unsurprised by the news that comes across my desk, but this little tidbit blew me away.

For two years now, we’ve seen mass foreclosures, people walking away from their underwater mortgages and warnings that there’s more to come. Foreclosure numbers reached all time highs, housing prices have dropped back to levels from nearly a decade ago and close to 10% of the country is unemployed. It’s enough to make a homeowner with one of the Southern New Hampshire homes for sale have a mental breakdown.

However, in February, the news went out, flooring most in the real estate industry: severe shortage of property predicted by the middle of 2011. This may sound unbelievable.  (It was a hard one for me to swallow.)  But, the construction industry has also been hard hit by the economic downturn, which means that fewer homes are being built. Combine fewer homes being built with population expansion and suddenly there’s a housing shortage.

Good News for Homeowners
In a recession, people have a tendency to live together because it’s cheaper. College students continue to live with their parents, divorce rates go down and more people share homes. However, we currently have over 300 million people living in the U.S. and we’re down to less than seven months’ inventory.

This is great news for homeowners trying to sell their homes – or even homeowners who just need more equity - although the repercussions may take awhile to spread.

In several high population areas and college towns, the demand for housing is on the rise. As we’ve talked about before, this brings in the age-old laws of supply and demand. The lower the supply and the higher the demand, the higher prices rise. The more value a home has in price, the higher the equity.

So, for those who have Southern New Hampshire homes for sale or are hoping to sell in the next few years, take heart! A housing shortage may be hard to believe right now, but, if what the economists say is true, it’s on its way. Stay on your toes, make sure all your ducks are in a row and prepare for the rush on home sales.

If you’re trying to sell your home or are looking for a great home to buy, I can help.  Call me at 603-821-1134 or email me at dave@daveheeter.com for more information.