Who Turned Off All The Listings?

Who Turned Off All The Listings?

Staying on course with our current topic… Low Inventory Woes – Why Aren’t More Sellers Selling? Trying to pinpoint the reasons behind the historic low inventory levels we’re experiencing. What factors are contributing to the huge crimp in the supply-side of the market equation?

In other words: Who turned off all the listings?

Let’s continue deciphering this riddle wrapped in a mystery inside of a market enigma. We left off last week talking about one of the prime suspects behind the market’s lack of listings – Move-Down Buyers – a term that coincides with a huge number of aging baby-boomers (and some of their Octogenarian parents), who have the following things in common:

They’ve owned their homes for a long time.
They have a lot of equity.
They are at transition points in their lives.
They really do want to sell
They’d be happy to put their houses on the MLS tomorrow, if only…

If only they could figure out how to do it in a way that makes sense and feels right. If only they could think their way past the push-pull of the Chinese finger-trap, torture-puzzle that comes with aging. If only they could learn the secret Jedi Mind-trick that lets them sell their home in seamless fashion while simultaneously buying a smaller, less expensive one, better suited to the future.

At first glance, you wouldn’t think it would be that hard to sell a bigger house and buy a cheaper one in Santa Cruz. But, if it were that easy, the hundreds of would-be Sellers that I’ve talked to in the last few years, would have already found answers to their personal “Downsizing Dilemmas”. Their houses would already be on the MLS. They’d be in escrow, moving forward and moving on to smaller and better things in life.

And of course, the inventory of homes for sale would be much higher than it is now and presumably the market would be a much happier place to buy in. So, what’s the hold-up? What makes it so hard to downsize in Santa Cruz? Are would-be Sellers a.k.a Move-down Buyers asking for too much? Do they have unreasonable demands after a lifetime of working hard and moving-up? Their priorities look pretty simple:

They want a smaller house

They’d like a single-level home

They want less yard-work and maintenance

They want to be closer-in to community and conveniences

They want to free up a chunk of equity to supplement their retirement

It all sounds pretty simple right? Desirable qualities of life that everyone can relate to. Which is part of the problem of course. Buyers young and old are competing for the same kinds of houses in the same price ranges and that makes the transition between Selling and Buying anything but seamless. Specially for aging-Sellers who are used to being comfortable and somewhat in control of their own destinies.