Some of us remember the popular commercial with the “Where’s the Beef?” line. In some Real Estate markets, that line could be “Where’s the Merchandise?” Many buyers in the markets I deal with are finding that the inventory is quite low. You might wonder how that is possible in the midst of a recession.

A specific neighborhood may be considerably small in some areas. If the demand is even moderate, the supply could dwindle quickly. To make matters worse or better, depending upon whether you’re buying or selling, the homes that are priced correctly sell quickly making the inventory even smaller. Therefore as you can see, although we are in a recession, homes are still selling and the Real Estate prices are still strong in these neighborhoods..

What is interesting about this is the fact that buyers looking in these areas are still not willing to pay more than market value just to be in the neighborhood they want. Most are willing to wait for a new home to come on the market or for a seller to reduce their asking price. Others still will make multiple offers at or just below market value and see what happens.

This could be good news for real sellers in these areas. With the demand high and the inventory low, a home offered at or just above the market value will most likely sell and sell quickly!  Is your area one of these neighborhoods?  Right now certain parts of Brooklyn and the Neponsit & Belle Harbor neighborhoods of the Rockaways are. I would like to know which other neighborhoods are seeing the same situation.

One thing that is a common factor regardless of the neighborhood is that a professional Realtor can be of great assistance. Their knowledge of the neighborhoods they service can help you with your buying or selling needs.