As of today, August 13, 2012, there are only 885 "active" listings in the Fresno MLS, for homes, condos and PUD's in the Fresno/Clovis areas. Of the 885 listings, 161 are short sales. So the actual homes that can be sold today is a mere 724 available listing. As you know, short sales take months to get approval and sometimes don't go through at all, so I don't count them as truly available properties. Also, of the 885 active listings, there are 110 "bank owned" REO listings.
This is an incredibly low amount of listing inventory! No wonder that buyers are having a hard time finding a good home to buy. I'm seeing multiple offers on nearly all listings that are clean and priced correctly. We actually need more like 2500 to 3000 listings to be a more balanced market with the number of buyers in the population of the Fresno, and Clovis communities.
This is having a positive effect on prices, as it is showing in the prices and values edging upward over the last year. The problem is we need listings. Anyone who is considering selling, must know that they can sell quickly at this time, and if they can find a suitable replacement property, they can reap the benefits of record low interest rates, such as 3.5% for a 30 year loan. It's just incredible the low rates we can get! . Many homeowners that I talk to, would like to sell, but their property values have taken such a hit, that they are waiting for the values to increase. They are increasing but it's at a slow pace, maybe just a few percent higher than last year. I believe we have seen the bottom of the price decline, and values are slowly on the rise again.
