We found a recent chart from Urban Digs just fascinating, whetting our appetite for the quantitative powerhouse the site has just unleashed:
This chart maps (only on the UWS, mind you) active inventory versus off market inventory. The negative correlation points to re-listings being responsible for the recent sharp increase in inventory, not new listings. Typically, such a rise would allude to a buyer advantage in pricing negotiations, as more inventory means more competition. In this case, however, the story may have changed: with most of the inventory having already been on the market, taken off and now back online, this may indicate that there is little inherent inventory beyond this batch to go around.
In other words, supply seems to be relatively finite, at least for the time being. Put more plainly, the sellers who are looking to list their homes are the very same as those who were looking to sell in the Summer.
If you’re looking to list now and for the first time, you may well stick out from the crowd. Since on average buyers take 6 months to pull the trigger, they are likely familiar with most of the properties that were likely candidates in the Summer and passed on them, meaning they are waiting for new inventory and would be willing to jump on it if priced correctly. Take advantage of this dynamic by conducting thorough pricing due diligence, marketing aggressively and providing as much access as you can as quickly as you can. If you do this correctly, you may well be in contract before the full brunt of the holiday season kicks in.
