Comparison shopping is key in buying home

By Marshall C. Mower

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jan 15, 2012

~~Question: Is it a buyers' market, a sellers' market or a balanced market?
Answer: For a macro view of any real estate market, you need to look at months of remaining inventory (MORI). MORI measures how long it would take to sell the entire existing inventory at the current rate of sale. Six months is typically considered the dividing line between sellers' and buyers' markets. Less than six months indicates a sellers' market. In December of 2011 there was a 4.5-month supply of single-family homes and a 4.7-month supply of condos on Oahu. With low inventory overall, the market seems to be trending toward more of a sellers' market. To answer this question far more effectively, however, you really need to look at the MORI from neighborhood to neighborhood and building to building. While it may be a sellers' market in one neighborhood or building, it may be a buyers' market in another.
~~

Question: Is it a buyers' market, a sellers' market or a balanced market?

Answer: For a macro view of any real estate market, you need to look at months of remaining inventory (MORI). MORI measures how long it would take to sell the entire existing inventory at the current rate of sale. Six months is typically considered the dividing line between sellers' and buyers' markets. Less than six months indicates a sellers' market. In December of 2011 there was a 4.5-month supply of single-family homes and a 4.7-month supply of condos on Oahu. With low inventory overall, the market seems to be trending toward more of a sellers' market. To answer this question far more effectively, however, you really need to look at the MORI from neighborhood to neighborhood and building to building. While it may be a sellers' market in one neighborhood or building, it may be a buyers' market in another. Login for more...