Spring 2023 archive. This article originally argued that low national housing inventory could help sellers. Its figures describe February 2023 and the spring discussion that followed; they are not a current Telluride inventory report or a guarantee of multiple offers.
In its March 21, 2023 release, the National Association of Realtors reported 980,000 unsold existing homes nationally at the end of February. That was unchanged from January and 15.3% above February 2022’s 850,000. At the February sales pace, the inventory represented 2.6 months of supply, compared with 1.7 months a year earlier.
| National existing-home measure | February 2022 | February 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Unsold homes at month end | 850,000 | 980,000 |
| Months of supply at the reported sales pace | 1.7 | 2.6 |
The unit count and months-of-supply measure are different. Months of supply relates available inventory to the current sales pace; it is not the time every listing will take to sell. A six-month balance point is a broad rule of thumb, not a universal threshold that determines negotiating power for every property. The original “all-time low” claim also overreached: its own figures show more inventory than a year earlier.
The original NAR-sourced graphic shows the average number of offers on the most recent closed sale, with February 2023 labeled at 2.7. Its plotted history runs from December 2017 to February 2023. The late-2022 trough and early-2023 increase describe that survey measure; the chart is not a count of offers on every active listing or a Telluride-only series.
An average of 2.7 does not mean every seller received two or three offers. It also does not establish a bidding war, an above-list sale or favorable contingencies. Homes that did not close are outside the chart’s stated closed-sale measure. Inventory alone does not count the qualified buyers competing for a specific home.
The original article emphasized pricing, condition and curb appeal, and cited Realtor.com editor Clare Trapasso’s observation that well-presented, appropriately priced homes were still attracting multiple offers in some areas. Those factors are useful preparation questions, even though the outcome is never assured.
For Telluride and Mountain Village, national spring-2023 statistics are background. A listing strategy needs local evidence and the seller’s own timing and cost constraints.
For a property-specific review of recent comparable sales, competing listings and your timing, contact Anne-Britt Ostlund at Mountain Rose Realty.