Landlord owners reduce number of homes for sale

Why is home inventory so low?

Part of the answer is the growing number of landlord owners-people who have purchased another home and rent out their former primary residence.

“It’s a major reason we have low inventory and limited sales growth,” said Glenn Kelman, CEO of Redfin.

Mortgage rates are still low and average monthly rents continue to climb. Homeowners are beginning to take advantage of the market conditions by becoming landlords and have the rent they receive cover the monthly mortgage and sometimes taxes and insurance.

Every home converted into a rental property is one less that goes on the market. And in hot real estate markets like Seattle, fewer homes for sale create more competition.