Certain individuals and localities are more severely affected by the housing limitation than others.

The number of properties for sale is almost half what it was in 2019, even though the housing market has slowed dramatically as a result of increased mortgage rates.

Some purchasers are being impacted more than others by the shortfall.

In May, the well-known 30-year fixed mortgage rate lingered around the high 6% level. At that price point, purchasers could afford a home with a maximum price of around $341,000 (£271,000) with an annual salary of $100,000 (£78,000), which is somewhat over the national median. According to a new survey released on Thursday by Realtor.com and the National Association of Realtors, only 39% of the properties for sale in May were listed at or below that amount.

Given the number of the people making $100,000 (£78,000) a year, 64% of homes need to be within the means of purchasers in a market where supply and demand are balanced. The market is now lacking around 285,000 of such listings as a result.

The majority of properties for sale were within reach of such incomes only five years ago. There were notably reduced home prices and borrowing rates.

This spring's market competitiveness was heightened by a shortage of affordable properties, reversing the cooling trend in property prices that had begun last summer.

For example, in the US, there are too many homes for sale in the higher price categories compared to the number of Americans who can afford them. In fact, the market is short twice as many properties under $341,000 (£271,000) for every home listed above $680,000 (£542,000).

And the story is similar in the UK. 

More buyers are turning to new building, which oddly used to be more expensive, as a result of the expensive existing house market. Builders of new homes have begun providing incentives like enhancements or brief mortgage rate buydowns. But as demand increases and builders acquire greater price power, those are declining.

It doesn't seem like the supply problem is getting any better. According to Redfin, the number of new listings for properties went down 25% year over year in the first week of June, reaching the lowest level of any early June ever.

The overall number of properties for sale has decreased 5% from the same time last year as a result of the absence of new listings.

(Sources: cnbc.com, redfin.com, realtor.com)