[quote=Nor-LA-SD-GUY2]Chicken/egg thing again,
No inventory because can’t raise prices so very very few voluntary sellers,

Can’t raise prices because every once in a while a beat-up foreclosure or desperate short sale occurs knocking down the comps keeping a lid on prices so even if a buyer was willing to pay up, they can’t get approved for the loan,

Welcome to frustration land.[/quote]

Agree with this, Nor LA, except that in many areas, these “distress” sales do not occur “every once in a while.” They are 80-90% of recent sales and have been for awhile.

The areas where there is a prevalence of “all cash” purchases or 40%+ down purchases (where buyers “could” get approved for a loan or don’t even need a loan) DO have more well-maintained “equity sale” properties available. But these are NOT the areas first-timers or young “worker bee” buyers either typically shop in or buy into.

This “worker-bee, school-age children set” of today seems to want to all flock to the same areas, engage in their own “bidding wars” with each other and thus, drive up their OWN prices :=}