Limited supply of homes available nationwide - NBC12 - WWBT - Richmond, VA News On Your Side

There is a limited supply of homes available in Richmond and nationwide, despite a solid job market and favorable economy.

The country is currently a "sellers’ market," meaning the sellers have the edge over the homebuyers and the homes that are available and desirable go very quickly.

According to CNBC, the national supply of homes for sale hasn't been this thin for 20 years.

The National Association of Realtors says about 1.75 million homes were for sale nationally at the end of February. That is down 6.4 percent from a year earlier but slightly up from January.

According to Shana Bloom, a realtor for Virginia Select Realty, in the Tri-Cities area for the month of March, the number of home sales was up by 27 percent, but the number of new listings was only up by 3 percent.

"We are building less homes than we should be at this time," Bloom said. "It is an after affect from the recession."

According to CNBC, other reasons homes are in decline are: homeowners living in their homes longer; homeowners not selling their homes in fear they won't find a new home they like and can afford; investors, who typically keep properties for disproportionately long periods, own a larger share of houses.

Angela Volkening of Richmond just bought a home after years of looking. Volkening said it was difficult to find the exact home she wanted for the right price. She ended up having to compromise some of her needs and paid more than expected.

"You have to be competitive and jump on things when they happen," Volkening said. "Everything moved really quickly. If we saw a house we wanted, we'd look at it the next day, and if we weren't able to, it was like 'oh no, there is going to be 25 offers on it before we can even take a look at it.'"

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