Finding a Home in a Low Inventory Market 

Are you struggling to find a home in a low-inventory market? Here are five ways to find homes not listed on the market for sale!

Can't find the home you're looking for? Does it seem like there aren't enough options out there for you?

Welcome to the lives of many frustrated buyers who feel like you do.

There are things you can do that will help you find the home of your dreams, even when it isn't already listed for sale.

When looking at Raleigh real estate statistics, Raleigh continues to gain popularity and increase in population size, leading to fewer available homes as more and more people move to the area. 

This is causing frustration among buyers for two common reasons:

1. They can't find a home for sale.
2. When they do find the right home, it's a multiple-offer situation or gone in a day.

If this sounds like you, there are things you can do to help yourself with the help of a Realtor® to find that perfect house.

1. Determine Location and Neighborhoods

The first thing you should do is to determine a location before you buy real estate.

By determining the location, you can zone in on the best neighborhoods you want and begin marketing, communicating, and searching for someone selling their home. This is the most important part of the home search. Location is the number one determining factor in price and is what buyers should not sacrifice when purchasing real estate.

There are a lot of buyers who are so afraid of making the wrong decision that they begin to confuse themselves and search for homes for sale in many different local cities. This is what makes having a great Realtor® by your side so important. 

Finding the best home at a great price is much harder when you don't zone in on the neighborhoods you like. 

If there is one piece of advice I could give to anyone buying a house, it would be to zone in on a location, neighborhood, area, or school, something that will allow you to 'predict' a great deal vs. confusing yourself with the ambiguity of different zip codes, cities, and schools.

Once you have determined a location, it's time to start finding a home for sale.

2. Expired Listings Are a Great way to Find a Home

One of the best ways to find a home for sale when there aren't any is to examine the people who tried to sell and could not. Often, people whose homes have expired off the market still want to or need to sell their homes at some point. Start by reaching out to these people.

When there aren't enough options on the market, or if there aren't any, you need to become resourceful. For instance, the other day, we had a buyer connect with us that they couldn't find the home they were looking for in Downtown Raleigh, so we put together a list of expired real estate listings that matched their criteria and asked if they liked any.

There are several reasons why a home expires off the market, and it isn't always necessarily because the home is bad. Sometimes, it is overpriced for the current real estate market, has a limited buyer pool, or just wasn't marketed correctly. You shouldn't be afraid to buy a home that was once an expired listing because it expired. 

Let us know if you want to search expired listings in Wake County in certain locations. We can assemble a list of expired listings that match your criteria and help you connect with the sellers.

3. Mailing Letters within your Desired Neighborhood

When you mail letters, try and engage people in conversation before attacking them with offers. Start with something like "We hope to be moving to the neighborhood soon" and a picture of you and your family vs. writing a generic "We would like to buy your home letter." By putting something interesting and eye-catching, you'll be far more likely to engage the people who are opening your letters vs. ending up in the trash with all the other marketing mailers.

Finish the letter with an opportunity to continue the conversation, whether by offering your email address or social media profile for them to connect with you. 

At the end of the day, people want great neighbors and to live next to people they like, so if you can start a conversation, you will have people helping you find a way to move into the neighborhood. Some of the first people to find out about people selling their homes are neighbors, whether it's through conversation or looking out the window and seeing a sign go up (sometimes before it's listed for sale with the MLS).

4. Join a Social Media Group 

If you're looking at homes for sale in a certain neighborhood, there are ways you can connect with potential sellers online. Let's pretend you want to search for homes for sale in Cary, NC, specifically within the Cary Park Subdivision. One of the first things you should do is find ways to connect with those people in that neighborhood online.

If you join a large Facebook group, you can write on the page informing potential sellers that you want to buy in the neighborhood.

A lot of times, a simple "Hi, Everyone. My name is Ryan, and my family and I hope to join your awesome neighborhood. We love the ( list a couple of things you like ). Do you know anyone considering selling that you can connect us with? Thanks so much! Ryan"

Several deals have been converted from a social media post like that one, and people use their networks on social media to find a great home when there aren't many for sale.

You can also run sponsored Facebook ads in a targeted zip code or area. Try a video, as they're most likely to engage people.

5. Door Knocking Homes That Are Not for Sale

Many people don't want to door knock, and that's fine, there are other strategies you can use. Nothing will be more effective than going home by home and asking people if they are thinking of selling. Because it is the most direct, it's also the one people are most afraid of because there's a high probability of the owner saying no.

If you want to find a home for sale in the neighborhood you like, you 100%, positively, should go door-knocking. Drop a card off for them to contact you in case they do decide to sell/know of someone else in the neighborhood who is.

Door knocking is probably the most effective of all the strategies as it allows you to find the homes you like and speak directly with those owners face to face.

FAQs 

How to buy a house with no inventory? 

The best way to buy a house with no or low inventory is by connecting with a real estate agent, acting quickly, offering a higher price, and being flexible on the closing dates. 

Does low inventory mean sellers' market? 

A seller's market is defined as a housing market where the demand for housing exceeds the supply, which means there is low inventory. 

Why is inventory so low in real estate? 

A low housing supply means a problem with supply and demand. If there are not enough houses to meet the demand of those who want to buy in an area, then there will be a shortage. 

Final Thoughts on Finding a Home for Sale in a Low Inventory Market

Finding great homes for sale isn't always the easiest objective — you should start by determining a location/area and go from there. The location is the most important aspect of purchasing real estate since it's one thing you cannot change about your property. After you've found the location, you should start tackling expired listings and see what didn't sell.

Drive through the neighborhoods you like, assemble mailing lists/addresses for the houses you especially like, and prepare your letter. Mail to these homeowners. You can typically find their names registered with the county real estate website. You can find the owner's names here when you search Wake County Real Estate.

After you put together addresses and have mailed the letters, you should feel free to connect with these people on social media and to join local social media groups/pages. Let the community know your intentions and what you're looking for.

Suppose there are any homes in particular that you especially like, don't be afraid to knock on the owner's door and ask if they are considering selling their home anytime soon. Maybe it isn't for sale today, and they planned to list it for sale in the next six months.

At the very least, you will build a connection in the neighborhood even if they don't plan to sell. For those of you who are scared to door knock, remember — it's flattering for owners to hear that someone loves their home so much they want to buy it.