If you're just starting the home buying process, it's completely understandable to pull up the list of available homes and immediately feel concerned. 

You might think… "Wait, is this it? There's hardly anything to buy!"

Especially in a low-inventory market like ours, your first look at the active listings (homes that are not already under contract) can feel a little discouraging - particularly for homes under $400K in our market.

But here's the good news...

The current view of inventory isn't a good reflection of what will be available moving forward.

Let's say you're looking for a three-bedroom, two-bathroom single-family home in the City of Harrisonburg. You pull up active listings and... there's only one available. Yikes.

But... looking back... there were actually 10 homes that fit those same criteria that came on the market over the past two months!

All 10 of those homes are already under contract... so they're not showing up when you search for a home to buy.

So, what does that mean for a buyer that is new to the market?

1.  Current inventory is not a good indication of how many homes you will be able to consider in your home search.

2.  Homes that match what you are looking for may be going under contract quickly - so be ready to act quickly.

3.  It can be helpful to look backward for a bit -- to see the homes that have sold over the past few months that would have worked for you -- to get a sense of how many options you will have moving forward.

So, some action items...

1.  Don't panic if the listings look sparse at first glance.

2.  Let's keep a close eye on new listings so that we can go see them quickly when they hit the market.

3.  Talk to a lender today if you don't already have a preapproval letter.  We will want to make a quick, strong offer when the right home appears.

There will continue to be homes coming on the market as we move through the Fall. Sometimes, it just takes waiting for the right house to come along... and then being ready to act quickly.