Housing inventory

Storm-related reconstruction costs — a large share of which may be concentrated in the New York City area — are estimated to total $1.9 trillion for water damage and $8.5 trillion for wind damage.

Housing value growth in April hit a 15-year high as the inventory squeeze created gridlock between baby boomer sellers and millennial buyers, according to CoreLogic.

Purchase contracts for the three months through April surged 85% from a year earlier to 3,487, the builder said in a statement after the close of trading Tuesday.

While elevated prices are acting as brake on demand, mortgage rates near historic lows and elevated backlogs suggest steady residential construction gains in coming months that will help contribute to economic growth.

Unlike fix-and-flip investors, who take title to homes, renovate them and put them back on the market, wholesalers typically negotiate with homeowners just to put homes under contract and sell those contracts to flippers.

Companies are facing delays for everything from sheet rock to cabinets and kitchen appliances and as a result, homes are taking about a month longer to build.

Estimated activity exceeded projections as consumer purchasing power rose, although inventory continued at a record nadir and otherwise held back potential home sales, according to First American.

The month saw the highest median home sales price ever along with the quickest time ever to sell a new listing.

Economic recovery should soar into the summer as vaccination rates climb and restrictions loosen up, but low inventory is likely to limit mortgage activity into the next year, according to Fannie Mae.

Mortgage activity fell across the board despite analysis that 14.5 million current qualified borrowers would benefit from a refinance, according to Black Knight.

Homebuyer competition reached new heights right as the purchase market hits its busiest time of year, according to Redfin.

In spite of an improving economy, acute competition and supply scarcity soured homeshoppers on the purchase market in April, according to Fannie Mae.

Residential value growth in March reached heights not seen since the lead up to the housing bubble, according to CoreLogic.

“Low inventory has been a consistent problem,” Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the NAR, said in a statement. “With mortgage rates still very close to record lows and a solid job recovery underway, demand will likely remain high.”

Despite home purchasing power growing for the 14th consecutive month in February, rising property values and mortgage rates are likely to influence would-be sellers to stay put, according to First American.

Property values climbed 12% in February, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index.

The end of the refinancing boom and impending rise in rates are not the only challenges lenders face. As one observer put it, they "can't make loans on homes that don't exist."

The ritzy east end of Long Island is somehow still throwing up more high-end listings to meet demand.

As listings were snagged at near-record speed, inventory hit yet another new low point, according to Remax.

The market appears to be undergoing a shift away from refinances and remote operations, but the top producers interviewed for this article don’t plan to abandon either any time soon.