“With today’s overload of houses, buyers have plenty to pick from — more in some price ranges, less in others.”  This is the first of many stories to come where the media will finally understand that there are many, many opportunities for buyers out there in this market.

Lynn Underwood spoke to me about a week and a half ago for this story.  She quotes me as follows:

John Murphy, Edina Realty sales agent, said that in his experience, some owners of houses priced under $250,000 can’t afford their mortgage and are trying to sell.

Where will you find the most options? Million-dollar-plus homes show the deepest inventory at 20 months, but upper-bracket properties always take longer to sell and have a smaller pool of buyers. Even if those houses don’t sell, the owners are more likely to still buy a second house because many have the financial means to own both properties.

“Sellers in that price range may be able to hang onto homes longer and weather the storm,” Murphy said.

It’s anyone’s guess how long it will it take for the housing surplus to shrink, and supply and demand to balance out. But Murphy doesn’t see a turnaround anytime soon.

“With inventory still 10 to 12 percent higher than it was one year ago, and pending sales activity down typically 15 to 25 percent depending on the week, it doesn’t look like a turn to me.”

Although the number of houses for sale is still at record levels, new listings are being added more slowly. The number of new listings the week ending March 8 is down 10 percent from last year. For the first three months of this year, new listings have dropped 5.6 percent when compared to last year.

What’s it going to take to burn off some of that existing inventory? Sellers can do their part by making sure houses are in “model-home” condition and aggressively priced to move.

“Sellers have to price realistically according to market conditions, which many still are reluctant to do,” Murphy said.

Lenders and banks can help by speeding up the selling process of the growing number of distressed and foreclosed properties, he said.

“It’s not uncommon for it to take 30 to 60 days to hear back from a bank on an offer,” said Murphy. “The faster they respond, the faster we can move through all the bank-owned property and help get this market back on its feet.”