More Homes for Sale Isn’t a Warning Sign – It's Your Buying OpportunityMaybe you’ve heard that the number of homes for sale has reached a recent high. This might lead you to
More Homes for Sale Isn’t a Warning Sign – It's Your Buying Opportunity
Dated: May 21 2025
Views: 48
More Homes for Sale Isn’t a Warning Sign – It's Your Buying Opportunity
Maybe you’ve heard that the number of homes for sale has reached a recent high. This might lead you to question whether this signals the start of another housing market crash. However, the data shows that this is not the case. In most areas, increased inventory isn’t bad news; it’s actually a sign of the market returning to a more stable and healthy state.
What’s Going on With Inventory?
Based on the latest data from Realtor.com, inventory just hit its highest point since 2020, shown with the white line in the graph below.
But what you need to realize is, at the same time, inventory levels still haven’t returned to pre-pandemic norms (shown in gray):
That means there are more homes for sale now than there have been in quite some time.
And while it’s true inventory is up significantly compared to where it was over the last few years, the number of homes on the market is still well below typical levels. And that’s important context.
Why This Isn’t the Problem A Lot of People Think It Is
Some people hear inventory’s rising and immediately think about 2008. Because back then, inventory spiked just before the market crashed. But today’s situation is very different.
Here’s the key reason why. We don’t have a surplus of homes; we have a deficit to climb out of.What we’re dealing with is a long-term housing shortage– and it’s a big one.
The red bars in the graph below show all the years where housing starts (new builds) didn’t keep up with household formation, going back to 2012. The deeper the bars in the graph, the more the housing deficit grew (see graph below):
And one of the reasons this housing shortage kept growing is that new home construction just didn’t keep up with the number of people who need to buy homes. The U.S. is short millions of homes at this point, and it will take years to overcome that gap. Realtor.com says:
“At a 2024 rate of construction relative to household formations and pent-up demand, it would take 7.5 years to close the housing gap.”
That means, in most areas, there isn’t a risk of having too many houses on the market right now. It’s quite the opposite—a vast majority of markets actually need more homes.
Which is why, even though inventory is rising, it’s not a problem on a national scale. It’s just helping to fill a gap that’s been growing for years.
Bottom Line
Don’t let the headlines scare you. Rising inventory isn’t a sign of a crash. It’s a step toward a more normal, stable housing market.
Marcus Roth
Welcome to my world of real estate, where my passion for helping clients like you find their dream home or navigate successful selling is more than just a profession—it's my purpose. I'm Marcus ....
Latest Blog Posts
Housing Market Forecasts for the Second Half of 2025From rising home prices to mortgage rate swings, the housing market has left a lot of people wondering what’s next – and whether now
Why Today’s Foreclosure Numbers Aren’t a Warning SignWhen it feels like the cost of just about everything is rising, it’s only natural to wonder what that means for the housing
Curious about where the housing market is headed in 2025? The good news is that experts are offering some promising forecasts, especially when it comes to two key factors that directly affect your
The data relating to real estate for sale on this web site comes in part from the Internet Data Exchange of the Greater Lehigh Valley REALTORS®. Real Estate listings held by brokerage firms (licensees) other than #firm are marked with the IDX logo and detailed information about them includes the name of the listing brokers.
The information being provided is for consumers personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers
©2026 Georgia Multiple Listing Service All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. All properties are subject to prior sale, change or withdrawal. Neither listing broker(s) or information provider(s) shall be responsible for any typographical errors, misinformation, misprints and shall be held totally harmless. Listing(s) information is provided for consumer's personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may
The data relating to real estate for sale on this web site includes listings held by MLS-IDX Participants of the Internet Data Exchange program of the Multiple Listing Service of the Pocono Mountains Association of Realtors®. Listings marked with the Internet Data Exchange logo are not necessarily the listings of the owner of this web site. All listing data is the copyrighted property of the aforesaid Association and its MLS-IDX Participants with all rights reserved. The information contained
© BRIGHT, All Rights Reserved
Luzerne County Association of REALTORS® (LZCAOR) All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. All properties are subject to prior sale, change or withdrawal. Neither listing broker(s) or information provider(s) shall be responsible for any typographical errors, misinformation, misprints and shall be held totally harmless. Listing(s) information is provided for consumer's personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing. The data relating to real estate for sale on this website comes in part from the Internet Data Exchange program of the Multiple Listing Service. Real estate listings held by brokerage firms other than The Brokers Realty Group Limited may be marked with the Internet Data Exchange logo and detailed information about those properties will include the name of the listing broker(s) when required by the MLS. Copyright ©2026 All rights reserved.
Last Updated: September 22, 2026 4:04 PM UTC
Susquehanna Valley Board of REALTORS® All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. All properties are subject to prior sale, change or withdrawal. Neither listing broker(s) or information provider(s) shall be responsible for any typographical errors, misinformation, misprints and shall be held totally harmless. Listing(s) information is provided for consumer's personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be
