From the August issue: One of the most confusing — and contradictory — aspects of the current
real estate market is the dropping supply of available apartments,
which seems inexplicable in the face of slow sales and plummeting
prices. Yet inventory has been declining since the spring, when it peaked
at over 11,000 listings. While the subsequent drop seems to signal a
market turnaround, market analysts told The Real Deal that the current level of inventory has more to do with sellers taking their listings on and off the market.
This fall’s real estate market was “very reactionary,” said Sofia
Kim, vice president of research at the real estate listings Web site
StreetEasy. “People were putting their places on the market out of
fear.” Now, many sellers are taking their listings off the market when
they can’t sell them at the desired price, deciding to wait — and in
some cases, collect rental income — instead. Meanwhile, as new condos
come online, their developers are waiting to market them until previous
rounds of units have been sold. [more]