We always speak about pent up demand, the kind that happens when markets experience a disruption, shock or a 'wait-and-see' moment. But there is another kind of pent-up issue we should acknowledge.....pent-up delays. A growing number of people are delaying selling their homes, staying in them longer. This is extending the buy-sell cycle and causing inventory shortages and in a market where we have been under-building for over a decade.
Economist reporter Aziz Sunderji speaks to this subject eloquently in THIS LINK. Those holding on longer and the older generations aging in place are a notable contributor to the lack of housing inventory. They are aging longer, healthier and more easily able to do so from their home, often via technological health monitoring and more visiting home service options.. They are also staying in their homes longer, either because they have zero debt or a low rate mortgage. They are staying longer because 'cashing out' while there are few affordable alternative options in both the sale and rental markets compounds this.
But, like all pent-up issues related to markets, sooner or later this breaks, mostly fueled by the natural forces of markets and nature.
