By Elena Cox | Realtor.com®
As we enter Year Two of the coronavirus pandemic, home buyers seeking more space or a sanctuary of their own are struggling to find properties for sale. The number of listings for available homes is about half of what it was a year ago—and pickings were slim even then. Like it or not, it’s the new real estate math: Rising demand plus shrinking inventory equals vexed buyers, desperate for solutions.
So why aren’t people just building more new homes? A whole lot of them?
Well, after slowdowns in new home construction that stretch all the way back to the late aughts housing crash, newly built communities and custom-built residences in many cities are indeed ramping up again. Builders applied for 14% more permits this year than last, according to U.S. Census Bureau data—a good indication of where new construction is going to be popping up as it usually takes about seven months from start to finish to build a house.
