Inventory Levels Increased But Remain Low - Bellingham Is Still A Sellers' Market
Sales Rate
Using Months of Inventory to Calculate Sales Rate
We can look at the current months of inventory to predict the likelihood that a home will sell in the next month. If in Bellingham there are currently 250 homes on the market and 125 homes sold in the last month, then there are 2 months of inventory. In other words, at the current rate of sales, it would take 2 months to sell all the homes currently on the market. To better understand the importance of Months of Inventory, see Months of Inventory on my Language of Real Estate page.
The Sales Rate estimates how likely a home that is listed today will sell in the next month. In the scenario above, we can estimate that 1/2 of homes listed today in Bellingham will sell in the next month, assuming there is no major shifts in the real estate market. Optimally, we will narrow the real estate activity to a smaller geographic or economic market - for example, homes in the county, homes with acreage, homes on the Southside, homes listed for $250,000-$500,000, homes listed for over $1,000,000, etc.
Most Sellers would be happy to know that they have a 50% chance of selling their home in the next month. But what if, based on current activity, your home has a 1 in 8 chance of selling? Then you better think about what you will do to make your home stand out, to increase the chances of being the one that sells.
