One of the big challenges for home buyers this year is how quickly homes have been selling. It hasn’t been uncommon to see a good listing go up midweek and sell before the following Sunday. That doesn’t leave much time for interested buyers to get out to see it, consider their options, and make a solid offer. But while new numbers from the National Association of Realtors show homes are still selling quickly, there was a slight improvement in October. In fact, the time the typical home for sale was on the market bumped up to 18 days from 17 days the month before – the first improvement in months. And while 82 percent of homes sold in less than 30 days, that’s 5 percent fewer than did in August, for example. In other words, autumn home shoppers still need to be prepared to act fast, but may have a little more time than buyers did this summer. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, says the challenging conditions haven’t slowed buyer demand . “Home sales remain resilient, despite low inventory and increasing affordability challenges,” Yun said. “Inflationary pressures, such as fast-rising rents and increasing consumer prices, may have some prospective buyers seeking the protection of a fixed, consistent mortgage payment.”
