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Real Estate Blog

How To Find Your Dream Home in a Low Inventory Market

by ROB HASTINGS on DECEMBER 1, 2019 | Updated: JANUARY 28, 2023

"I just wish there were more homes on the market."

"I can't find what I am looking for."

"Is there anything else to see?"

If you have been looking for a home to buy in Jacksonville, you may have made these comments. Inventory of homes is low with only a 3-month supply of homes on the market. By comparison, a normally balanced housing market has a 6-month supply of homes.

So how can you find a great house when there isn't much out there? Here are three tips to find your next home.

how to stage a house

Homes with professional pictures sell fast. Check out the same photo below taken with a cell phone.

1. Find Homes With Bad Pictures

Ever see listings in which a professional real estate photographer clearly wasn't the one taking the pictures? You know you've seen these homes - the listings with pictures probably taken by the real estate agent with a flip phone. The pictures are usually blurry, crooked, and dark.

But guess what? It's the pictures that are bad, not the house.

90% of home buyers find their next home through pictures on the Internet. If the pictures aren't good, the home will usually take longer to sell because buyers don't want to see the property.

So find homes with bad pictures. You may find a gem and have great negotiating power since no other buyers are interested because of the bad pictures.

how to stage a house

See the difference? This is the same house!

2. Look for Homes Sitting on the Market

In today's low-inventory market, there's usually one reason why homes sit on the market: price.

If a seller prices a home too high at the start of the listing, buyers won't find value in the home and move on to newer listings. Then, once a seller does make a price reduction, buyers have already found something else or even miss that the home was reduced in price.

Each day that a home sits on the market, the more the negotiating power turns in favor of the buyer. The showing activity also drops, so you are competing with less potential buyers.

Find homes that have been sitting on the market 45 days or more. Make an offer according to market value or less.

3. Find a Home that Needs Renovation

With the supply of homes in Jacksonville so low, you may need to find a home to renovate instead of purchasing a home that is move-in ready. Lower your purchase price target and leave room for renovation costs.

The benefit of doing a renovation is that the home now has the features and finishes that are exactly to your taste.

4. Bonus Tip - The Power Play

Find a home that has all three - bad pictures, high number of days on market, and needs renovation!

Low inventory doesn’t have to be a barrier for home buyers in Jacksonville. By thinking creatively and expanding your search criteria, it's feasible to find the right home at the right price.

Need some help finding a home in this low inventory market? Call us at (904) 479-8785 or (904) 515-2350.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

rob hastings realtor

Rob Hastings is a top-producing real estate agent in Jacksonville, Florida and helps buyers, sellers, and investors of homes and property throughout all of Northeast Florida. He works with his wife Nancy as a husband-and wife-team with Keller Williams Realty Atlantic Partners. When not helping his clients navigate the real estate process, Rob enjoys working on old Corvettes and playing music (guitar and piano). A U.S. Naval Academy graduate and former Naval Officer, he also loves boating and simply spending time on the water.