It’s difficult to sell homes when there are so few available to buy, and the chronic inventory shortage the market has been suffering from — bordering on an inventory crisis at this point — is now more than two years old. There are about as many homes for sale now as there were in 1994, except there are about 63 million more people in this country now than there were then. A combination of very low inventory and very high demand leads to two main outcomes, neither of which is particularly favorable for stressed home buyers desperate to make a deal. First, those homes that are available to buy are often on and then off the market in a flash, in many cases staying on the market for only a few short days before going pending. High demand and low inventory also serves to push prices higher at a rapid clip, as bidding wars break out for those scant few homes available. The fact that demand is so high is actually a good sign of economic health: Employers continue to add jobs, wages are growing at a decent pace and low mortgage interest rates are keeping homes relatively affordable even as prices rise. But that’s probably small comfort to buyers, especially first-time buyers that are having an especially difficult time finding entry-level homes for sale and that won’t get any help from low interest rates as they try to save for a down payment. The next few months may offer some relief to patient buyers willing to wait for a price drop on those few homes leftover from the spring crop, or for those lucky enough to pounce on a home listed in the next few weeks just before school starts.