Cheryl Nightingale - Monarch Realty Group, LLC

You hear it on the news all the time: "It's a buyer's market," "It's a seller's market," or "The housing market is on the rebound." And while you probably get the gist of what these folks are talking about, having a deeper understanding of the housing market and how it works can help you immensely during the home-buying or selling process.  Let's start with the basics The housing market refers to the general market of houses being bought and sold between buyers and sellers. These houses are either bought or sold directly by owners or indirectly through brokers. Like any market, the housing market is governed by the law of supply and demand. When demand is high and supply is low, the market appreciates. When demand is low and supply is high, the market depreciates. How inventory affects value In the real estate industry, we think of supply and demand in terms of available inventory. You can measure inventory by answering the...