Understanding the distinction between moving along a curve (either supply or demand) and shifting the curve is the hardest part about learning to use the supply-and-demand framework. Journalists and others frequently get confused about this—and no wonder, for it requires practice to learn how to use supply and demand properly.
First, consider the market demand curve. As the price of houses increases, the quantity demanded will decrease. This is a movement along the market demand curve. Changes in anything else—anything other than price—that affects the quantity demanded appears as a shift in the market demand curve. That is, at each given price, the quantity demanded changes.
Analogously, as the price of houses increases, the quantity supplied will increase. This is a movement along the market supply curve. If a change in anything else leads to a change in the quantity supplied, this appears as a shift in the market supply curve. That is, at each given price, the quantity supplied changes.
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