Anyone hoping builders will be putting up enough houses to alleviate the shortage on the market may just as well wish to see the tooth fairy. According to one longtime industry observer, it ain't gonna happen -- at least, "not anytime soon."

The number of actively selling subdivisions is off 30% since 2019, reports Tim Sullivan of Zonda, a marketing and analytical firm that monitors 18,000 active communities throughout the country. And the number of buildable, developed lots is slowly diminishing.

"We're not doing a good job" replacing what is being sold, Sullivan said in a recent Zoom presentation for his clients. "We don't have enough product."

At a time when builders should be rejoicing because they're selling everything they can put up, they are lamenting the fact that they can't put it up fast enough to satisfy the insatiable demand driven by near record-low mortgage rates, the desire for more functional space and the lack of existing houses for sale.

At a new community in a remote suburb of Dallas, for example, a builder recently used a lottery system for a chance to buy one of only 30 houses. Buyers had to be present and approved by the builder-owned mortgage company to win a spot.

When Nav Singh, an agent with HomesUSA, arrived with his client more than an hour before the drawing, about 70 people were already in line. By the time the drawing began, the line had nearly doubled. It was "the craziest thing I have ever seen," he says.

Builders are beset by all kinds of stumbling blocks these days, not just too many buyers. Here's a recap of Sullivan's look at some of them:

-- The Three L's. "Location, location, location" used to be the most important words in housing. But it hardly matters these days in the new-home market. Zonda research shows that 70% of the bestselling communities are 30 miles or more from central business districts.

In Houston, for example, properties within 10 miles of downtown are notching 1.1 sales per month, while those 30-35 miles out are grabbing 4.3 deals monthly.

Nowadays, the three L's stand for lumber, lumber, lumber. Sullivan said he's heard that the cost of complete framing pods is up 150% year-over-year. And the National Association of Home Builders reports that prices have tripled over the last 12 months, adding tens of thousands to the cost of a typical house.

The primary reason: insufficient production due to stay-at-home orders. In many cases, mills have yet to ramp back up to full capacity. Another factor: import duties placed on Canadian lumber during the Trump administration. At current prices, builders are paying about $48,000 for the softwood lumber in an average single-family home.

-- Availability. Prices are up for almost all building products -- gypsum and ready-mix concrete, in particular -- if you can find them. Eighty-six percent of builders told Zonda they are experiencing supply disruptions resulting in significant construction delays. Among the components that are tough to obtain are interior doors, appliances, windows, shingles and cabinets.

-- Higher prices. Zonda research shows 97% of builders have raised prices, half of those by $10,000 or more. But, said the company's chief economist, Ali Wolf, "There's virtually no sticker shock."

Even as builders restrict supply, prices continue to march higher. One reason: The market is supported in large measure by out-of-towners moving from places where housing prices are out of this world. For example, a 2,500-square-foot house that costs $1.16 million in San Francisco or $1.14 million in Los Angeles runs a mere $450,000 in Austin, Texas.

Because many people can work from home and believe they will continue to be able to do so, they are taking their profits and moving to less expensive places. And that's why locals are buying farther and farther out, where the prices are lower.

-- Land. "Builders are paying stupid land prices," Sullivan told his clients, but they almost have to if they want to remain in business. Why? Because the supply of home sites is dwindling rapidly.

Zonda says roadwork has commenced on just 165,000 lots nationwide. Considering that some 500,000 new homes are sold annually, that's not a lot (pun intended).

About a third of builders polled said they expect this will be an issue next year, as well. Said Sullivan: "The under-supply isn't going to go away."

-- Labor. Experienced carpenters, plumbers, electricians and other tradespeople are in short supply. But only 49% of builders said that's a big deal right now, probably because they're beset by other, more pressing problems and because they're not erecting houses as fast as they'd like.

-- Slowing down. To protect against getting too far ahead of themselves, a majority of builders are taking only a specific number of contracts per month. While 9% said it's still business as usual, 17% said they are accepting offers only as new lots become available, and 13% said they are pausing sales or reservations.

At the same time, cancellations are no longer a bugaboo to builders. They're still a four-letter word, but now that word is "good," because it allows builders to re-price to reflect their increased costs.

-- Appraisals. While today's homebuyers are among the most qualified ever -- "They have to be the cream of the crop," said economist Wolf -- 50% of builders complain they are being stymied by valuations that don't jibe with rising prices.

In one North Carolina case, the valuation of a new build that reflected current pricing came in $10,000 lower because the appraiser based the valuation on the same model that sold just three months earlier. Now that builder refuses to quote prices until all the costs are verified.

The number of new listings coming to market has been increasing for the last few weeks, signaling a possible break in the inventory logjam that has driven up prices and forced would-be buyers to up the ante.

Not everyone will be as lucky as the seller of a modest house outside of Washington, D.C., which recently drew 88 offers -- 76 of them cash -- even though it looked like it needed a lot of work. It was listed for $275,000, but sold for $460,000.

"I had no idea how the floodgates would open," says agent Ellen Coleman of RE/MAX. "I knew we would receive multiple offers above list, but nowhere near this."

More and more sellers are hoping for a similar windfall. That's why they're listing now, before the seller's market runs out of steam, as it eventually will. But it's not always as simple as sitting back and waiting for the horde of buyers to arrive with all the money they can muster.

For starters, every would-be seller has to ask themselves where they are going to live when the house is sold. If you plan to buy another house, you become, at least temporarily, just one more member of the pack of scrambling buyers.

"The very thing that makes it a good time to sell makes it a tough time to buy," says NerdWallet's housing guru, Holden Lewis.

Even though new listings jumped 40% for the week ending April 10, the number of active listings are still 53% lower than a year ago, according to Realtor.com. Consequently, competition is fierce.

Redfin says 64% of the offers its agents wrote for buyers faced competition in March. As a result, not only are 45% of houses selling above their listing prices, a record high, they are selling in just 21 days, a record low. Nearly 60% went under contract within two weeks -- also a record.

Still, sellers can't just sit back and expect the offers to come pouring in.

"Some people think all you have to do is stick a sign in the yard," says Elizabeth Weintraub of Weintraub and Wallace in Sacramento, California. "It might be easier to sell in a seller's market, but it takes a lot more than a sign."

First, clean your place from top to bottom, and take care of those long-postponed projects. You may not need to make any expensive presale renovations, but the leaky faucets and sticky windows you've ignored could turn off buyers.

"My advice is always clean, clean and do more cleaning," says Joan Cox of House to Home in Greenwood Village, Colorado.

You also might want to obtain a home inspection, for two reasons: One, it will alert you ahead of time to any issues that a buyer's home inspector is likely to discover. And two, your report could give buyers some assurance that the place is in decent shape, should they decide to waive their right to their own inspection.

Next, get all the necessary papers in order. Beside the inspection report, you might need your homeowners association documents and any other disclosures required in your state.

Now it's time to get your house ready for showing. If your place doesn't pass the "view" test, it may not sell as quickly or for as high a price, says Danielle Hale, chief economist at realtor.com: "Buyers are still pretty choosy."

Here, you might want to consider hiring a professional home stager to make your house as presentable as possible to the largest share of buyers. Agents generally concur that staging makes it easier for buyers to see a property as their own. Moreover, according to a recent report from the National Association of Realtors, staging increased what buyers were willing to spend. Agents on both sides of deals said offers on staged houses tended to be between 1% and 5% higher compared to similar places that haven't been staged. Staging also tends to decrease the amount of time a house is on the market.

If you don't want to foot the bill for a stager, than at least declutter. Put away those distracting family photos; clear off your kitchen and bathroom counters so those rooms look, well, more roomy. Get rid of all the ancient clothing hanging in your closets so they appear larger. Dump any excess furniture, and do whatever else is needed to make the house inviting.

Finally, set a reasonable price. Since housing prices are marching higher almost every day, some sellers think they can price above market -- way above market, in some cases -- and wait for buyers to knock down their doors offering even more. But you can get more with honey than vinegar.

In other words, it's better to price your house just below market. That way, you should attract more attention and create more competition -- which is what leads to more showings and more offers at higher and higher prices.

Only after you do all this can you sit back and wait for the bids to come rolling in.

A recent column about would-be homebuyers giving up because they keep losing bidding wars brought a flurry of responses: Readers want to know how they can become winners in this arena.

The competition factor certainly isn't going anywhere. According to Redfin, more than half of all houses on the market drew competing offers in January. In one case last year, a rather lackluster house in Los Angeles drew offers from 39 wannabes.

Here, then, are some timeless tactics that should give you a fighting chance.

-- Ready and set. Line up the professionals you'll be using in advance -- lender, lawyer, home inspector, appraiser -- and make sure they can be ready to go at a moment's notice.

-- Preapproved. Get preapproved, not just prequalified, so you'll know exactly how large a mortgage you can get.

-- Start lower. Search in a price range somewhat below your upper limit -- if you find yourself in a bidding situation, you'll have some wiggle room.

-- Go higher. Offer more than the list price. At today's low interest rates, an extra $10,000 may add only $40 a month to your mortgage payment.

-- Escrow up. This is the amount you attach to your offer to show the seller you're serious. The money will be held in an escrow account and used as part of your down payment at closing. The more you can put up at the start, the better you'll look. If the deal falls through, as long as it wasn't your fault, you should get your money back.

-- All cash. An all-cash deal tells the seller you won't be stopped if your financing falls through.

-- Clean offer. The fewer the contingencies, the better. One to jettison for sure: the one about you selling your current house first. In this frenzied market, no seller is willing to wait around for that. If you really must sell first, consider selling to a company that buys houses as-is.

Also consider crossing out the contract stipulation that the house must appraise for no more than a certain amount. Think twice, though, about giving up your right to have the place inspected. Otherwise, you could be buying problems you never bargained for.

-- HOA. If a homeowners association is involved, you usually have about a week to review those documents. Use that time to obtain an appraisal and an inspection. And since you can use the HOA document review to get out of the deal for any reason, you can cancel if the appraisal or inspection turns up something you don't like -- even if you waived those contingencies.

-- Step up. Think about adding an "escalation clause," which says you agree to bump your offer by a certain amount above your competitors'. So if you offer, say, $300,000, and someone else bids $310,000, you promise to best that amount by $1,000. The more, the better, but make sure to set a limit.

-- Other items. Offer to pay some of the seller's closing costs -- title insurance, transfer and recordation taxes, for example, or even moving expenses -- up to a certain amount. Be creative: If you have a service you can offer, do so. If you are a mechanic, for example, offer to tune up the seller's cars for two years. If you are an accountant ... you get the idea.

-- Timelines. Allow the seller to remain in the house for up to 90 days after closing. This will not only give you time to sell your place, should you need to, but it also will give the sellers any extra time they may need. Out of the goodness of your heart, you may not even want to charge them rent, or at least not more than what your mortgage payment will be.

-- Love letter. Write a heartfelt missive about how wonderful you find the seller's house, how well taken care of it seems and how you will cherish it once it's yours. Corny, yes, but with some sentimental sellers, it works. You can also consider meeting with the sellers and pleading your case in person. Dress up your little ones, tell them to mind their manners and bring them along.

-- Hang tough. Deals fall through all the time. A recent survey said 1 in 4 don't make it to closing, for any number of reasons. So ask that your offer be held as a backup, just in case. There's nothing wrong with coming in second or even third if you get to move up the line if the bidder ahead of you falls by the wayside.

-- Ask why. If you continually strike out, ask the seller or the agent why. Then you can reevaluate your strategy and craft your offer a little differently next time.

-- Time out. If you don't feel comfortable with being this aggressive, allow yourself to step away and come back when the market calms down. There's nothing worse than making a huge financial mistake -- especially one that you'll have to live with a for a long time.