Yes in this market of increasing listing inventory I am saying there is a shortage of salable listings.  This creates a tremendous advantage for the seller with equity who can price their home at “market value”. Below is my ratinale for this.

First a salable listing is a property that is on the market at “market value”, a price that most of today’s buyers are willing to pay based on the recent sales of other properties.  Furthermore it is a listing that they can get a response to their offer in a timely manner so they know if they are able to make plans to move.

By using this definition many of the properties that are on the market as short sales are not options for many buyers.  Also many of the properties on the market today are listed at prices “above market value” that the buyer knows is much higher that recent sales.  Some of these are not salable because of the amount the seller owes on their current mortgage.  Today over 45% of the traditional seller listed homes have been on the market for over 90 days.  In many case these sellers are unable or unwilling to move their price to the "market value" to get a sale.  Buyers are very savvy about shopping in today’s market and know what "market values" are.  They have access to a tremendous amount of information about the value of properties on the Internet.  They have access to current listings and also sold properties.  Buyers also look at a larger number of properties during the buying process.  The number of properties they consider is greatly increased if you include their searches on the Internet. 

This leaves the salable listings which  properties that are traditional sellers that are priced at “market value” and “bank owned propertie” that are at "market value” or will get to “market value”.  On both of these they can get the value they are looking for and can get a reply to their offer in a reasonable time frame.  In the case of bank owned homes, many are in better condition today and even if they need work, getting a reply to their offer lets them move forward with plans to fix it up and then move in.

There are agents all over the Twin Cities with qualified buyers ready and willing to buy, they are just waiting for "market valued" homes in acceptable condition to come on the market.  There are also some agents with qualified buyers ready to buy homes that need some work whether they are bank owned or not due to having cash and the increased use of the FHA 203(k) Streamlined Rehab loan.

This means that the seller who is in the driver's seat is the one able to price their home at or near “market value”.  The seller with equity can make a move today and if they are purchasing another house they can take advantage of the buyer’s side of this market or they can make the move they want to make for whatever their reason may be.