How is months of supply calculated on your market page?

Homes active today divided by the average number of homes closed per month over the last three months. If listings rise or sales slow, the number goes up. If listings fall or sales speed up, it goes down. The page recalculates from the MLS, so what you see is current rather than a figure from a printed report.

Is under three months of supply always a seller's market?

It is a rule of thumb, not a rule. Under three tends to favor sellers, three to six is usually balanced, and over six tends to favor buyers. A single price range or neighborhood can sit in a different spot than the whole market, and a house in poor condition can wait even when supply is tight.

Should I look at months of supply for my ZIP code or for all of Wichita?

Both, in that order. The city-wide number tells you the general weather. Your ZIP code or neighborhood page tells you what buyers looking at your kind of house are facing. When a smaller area has few sales, its figure swings more from month to month, so read it alongside the count of closed sales and the wider trend.

How does months of supply change how I should price my house?

When supply is low, pricing at recent comparable sales tends to bring competition and few concessions. When supply is high, buyers have choices, so condition, terms and a price that sits at or slightly below the comparables matter more. Either way the comparable sales set the range. Supply tells you how much room you have inside it.

What does "months of supply" mean, and why does it matter?

Months of supply is how long it would take to sell every home on the market today if no new listings appeared and homes kept selling at the recent pace. It is the number of active listings divided by the average number of sales per month. The common rule of thumb is that under three months favors sellers, three to six is balanced, and over six favors buyers. It is a rule of thumb, not a promise, and the live figure for Wichita is on our market page.

How the number is built

Two ingredients. The first is how many homes are for sale right now. The second is how many homes have been closing each month lately. Our market page uses the average over the last three months so one slow or busy month does not swing it.

Divide the first by the second. If as many homes are for sale as sell in a typical month, that is one month of supply. If twice as many are for sale, two months.

The number moves when either ingredient moves. More listings with the same sales pace pushes it up. Faster sales with the same listings pull it down. That is why it is worth watching the direction, not just the level.

Why it matters to a seller

Months of supply is a measure of competition among sellers. When it is low, there are fewer homes for each buyer to choose from, so a house priced at the comparable sales tends to draw showings quickly and buyers have less room to ask for concessions.

When it is high, buyers can afford to be picky. Condition matters more. Terms matter more. A price sitting above the comparables gets skipped rather than negotiated.

Supply also affects how you sell. In a tight market, a traditional listing often does its job. In a looser one, an auction with a set sale date can concentrate the buyers who exist into one room, on one day, and let them compete. Neither is automatically right. Read the number, then match the method to it.

Why it matters to a buyer

The same number read from the other side. Low supply means you may face other offers, so lining up financing before you shop and being ready to decide matters. High supply means you can take a second look, ask for repairs, and negotiate on terms as well as price.

It also helps you read a listing’s age. In a low-supply market, a home that has sat for a while is probably overpriced or has an issue. In a high-supply market, sitting is normal and says less.

What it does not tell you

It is market-wide. Different price ranges have different buyer pools, and a starter-home price band and a higher one can be in different situations at the same moment.

It is a snapshot. Season pushes it around. Listings build in spring and thin out in winter.

Small areas are noisy. A neighborhood with a handful of sales a month will swing more than the city. Our market page shows the count of closed sales next to the medians for that reason.

It is not your house. A specific home can behave differently based on price, condition and location. Supply is the weather. The house still has to be worth what it is priced at.

How to read it on our market page

Open the market page and find the months of supply tile. Then look at the days-to-close and under-contract tiles beside it. Low supply with short days to close and a high count under contract is a market that is moving. High supply with lengthening days to close is a market that is slowing.

Then open your ZIP code or neighborhood page and check whether it matches the city. The two do not always agree.

If you would like help reading it against your own house and your own timing, that is a conversation I am glad to have, and it starts with what you see on the page rather than what anyone tells you the market feels like.