Rising Inventory Isn’t a Red Flag — It’s Your Chance to Buy

More Homes for Sale? It’s Not a Crash—It’s a Comeback

Lately, you might’ve seen headlines about the growing number of homes hitting the market—and wondered if that means trouble ahead for the housing market. But before jumping to conclusions, let’s look at what’s really happening.

The truth is, more homes for sale doesn’t signal a downturn. In fact, it’s a sign that we’re finally heading toward a more balanced, healthier housing market.

What’s Really Happening With Inventory?

According to the latest numbers from Realtor.com, the current number of homes on the market has reached the highest level we’ve seen since 2020.

While that might sound dramatic, here’s the bigger picture: even with that jump, inventory still hasn’t returned to what we’d consider normal, pre-pandemic levels.

So yes—there are more homes for sale now than there have been in recent years, but we’re still far from having too many homes on the market. That’s a key detail often left out of the headlines.

Why Rising Inventory Doesn’t Mean Trouble

Some folks hear “inventory is rising” and immediately think back to 2008. But today’s market looks nothing like it did back then.

Here’s the big difference: we’re not dealing with an oversupply. We’re still playing catch-up after years of underbuilding.

Take a look at this chart, which shows how many years homebuilders didn’t build enough houses to match the number of new households forming:

The takeaway? We’ve been in a housing shortage for over a decade. That gap didn’t happen overnight—and we’re not fixing it overnight either. In fact, Realtor.com estimates that:

“At a 2024 rate of construction relative to household formations and pent-up demand, it would take 7.5 years to close the housing gap.”

So while the number of listings may be growing, we’re still well below what’s actually needed in most markets.

The Bottom Line

More homes for sale isn’t a red flag—it’s progress. It means buyers finally have more options, and the market is moving toward a more typical pace. We’re not looking at a flood of homes; we’re still filling a serious shortage.

So don’t let the headlines scare you—this is an opportunity, not a warning sign.