Home Inventories Fall by Nearly 19%

Market stabilizing? Home inventories fall by nearly 19%...This article from 05/25/12 in the RealtorMag discusses how inventories of for-sale listings continue to fall and demand picks up...

Home inventories of for-sale listings continue to fall, which may help raise overall housing prices as demand picks up.

Inventory of for-sale single-family homes, condos, townhouses, and co-ops dropped by 18.85 percent in April compared to a year ago, according to housing data of 146 metro markets tracked by REALTOR.com.

“These key indicators continue to suggest the housing market may be at a turning point and headed towards a broad-based recovery,” REALTOR.com notes in a release on its April housing data. “Lower inventories, combined with faster moving markets and relatively stable median listing prices are indicative of the kind of balanced housing market that has not been seen in many years.”

On a national basis, the median age of inventory dropped nearly 12 percent year-over-year. The median age of inventory dropped by the highest percentages in the following metro areas:

1. Oakland, Calif.
Median age of inventory: 20
Year-over-year drop: 54.54%

2. Miami
Median age of inventory: 76
Year-over-year drop: 41.08%

3. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Median age of inventory: 67
Year-over-year drop: 36.19%

4. Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash.
Median age of inventory: 46
Year-over-year drop: 34.28%

5. Pensacola, Fla.
Median age of inventory: 106
Year-over-year drop: 33.33%

references: realtor magazine, daily real estate news, melissa dittmann tracey