With sellers finding the real estate market favorable, it might not be for the reasons you think.

“More homes came on the market in March, but fierce demand made quick work of them. At the end of the month, the supply of homes for sale nationally was down 6.6 percent compared with a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors.”

-CNBC.com

Earlier this year, several sources confirmed that the real estate market was hot.

April continued to bring on a flurry of buyers, grabbing houses as soon as they came to market. This past Spring, already the most popular sale season, was one of the strongest sale seasons in a long while.  Nationally, properties sold in an average of 34 days in March.  To date, DC still boasts this average.  When looking back at the nationally unsold inventory, the diminished 3.8-month supply is a great indication of why the market has stayed in the seller’s favor.

Now approaching Fall, the market hasn’t seemed to cool down. In the DC Metro area, July boasted houses selling within 28 days of being on the market. Even faster than the Spring. So, the question begs to be asked – what is keeping the market so insatiable?

One reason could be that the Baby Boomer generation’s lack of motivation to move.

“There are two emerging trends, and one is that baby boomers are holding onto inventory,” Realtor.com Director of Economic Research Javier Vivas said. “They’re not moving.”

-Bisnow.com

Traditionally, the age range in which Boomers fall into, look towards retirement and most importantly downsizing their homes. Contrary to popular belief, recent studies have shown that 85% of Boomers have no desire to sell or move in the next couple of years, keeping 33 million homes off the market.  For families, looking to increase square footage when looking to buy a new home, have encountered “slim pickens” based on the 6.6% decrease in available homes. This has resulted in the real estate market continuing to hit new peaks. With homeownership highly desired and prices on the rise, Boomers have no reason to sell in the short term.