National Report Shows Year-To-Year Inventory Declines are Easing

SAN JOSE, CA-Realtor.com, the leader in online real estate operated by Move, Inc., has released the realtor.com National Housing Trend Report for the month of July 2013. July's real estate market data shows the nation experienced a 5.24% decline in housing inventory, which is the second month in a row with year-over-year inventory declines in the single digits. National median list prices increased 5.27% year-over-year while median age of inventory is down 16.67%.

While California markets have dominated the list of markets with the largest housing inventory declines in the first part of 2013, they have been replaced by a new set of market leaders including: Detroit, Boston; Denver; Honolulu and Naples, FL. The large decreases in the for-sale inventory in these markets suggests the beginning of a housing market recovery process similar to what was observed in Florida in 2011, and in California in 2012 and 2013.

“The recovery is entering a new phase where inventory shortfalls are no longer the driving force behind changes in housing prices in many markets. Larger inventories, especially in the hotter markets that experienced rapid price increases in the spring, are expanding buyers' choices and helping to moderate price increases,” said Steve Berkowitz, CEO of Move, Inc. “This month's report also underscores the uneven nature of the housing recovery and its dependence on the strength of the local economy.”

Realtor.com(R)'s Key National Market Indicators for July 2013

July 2013 Year-over-Year % Month-over-Month %

Change Change
------ ------

Number of
Listings 1,959,030 -5.24% 1.41%
--------- --------- ----- ----

Median Age of
Inventory 85 days -16.67% 6.25%
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Median List
Price $199,900 5.27% 0.00%
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National Highlights:

-- Dramatic national year-over-year inventory declines have evaporated.
Nationally inventories in July are only 5.24% below the level of
a year ago compared to being down 16.47% year-over-year in
January.
-- Inventory declines decrease in local markets. In July 2013, the number
of markets with decreases in year-over-year inventory declined from 125
markets in June to 118 markets in July. This suggests that this fall
inventories in some markets may return to levels of a year ago and may
continue to slow price increases in some markets.
-- Markets are still moving fast. All but five markets are continuing to
experience year-over-year declines in age of inventory and on a
month-over-month basis. On a national level, housing inventory is
approximately 17 percent below last year, but the national age of
inventory increased 6.25% month-over-month.
-- Price declines decrease in local markets. Median listing prices are now
negative year-over-year in only 31 markets, which is down from 36 in
June.

Market Highlights:

Below are the five MSAs with the largest year-over-year declines in their for-sale inventories in July 2013. California markets have dominated the list over the past year and have now been replaced with a very diverse set of new markets.

For-Sale Inventory: July 2013
-----------------------------

Top 5 MSAs with the Greatest Year-Over-Year Inventory Reductions
----------------------------------------------------------------

July 2013 vs. July 2012
-----------------------

Detroit, Mich. -30.21%
-------------- ------

Boston-Wrcstr-Lwrnce-Lowll-Brcktn, Mass.-N.H.(Mass.) -28.91%
--------------------------------------------------- ------

Denver -25.10%
------ ------

Honolulu -23.78%
-------- ------

Naples, Fla. -23.05%
------------ ------

A growing number of markets are experiencing year-over-year increases in for-sale inventories. For example, for-sale inventory was up by one or more percent on a year-over-year basis in 25 markets in July compared to just seven markets in April.

For-Sale Inventory: July 2013
-----------------------------

Top 5 MSAs with Greatest Year-Over-Year Inventory Increases
-----------------------------------------------------------

July 2013 vs. July 2012
-----------------------

Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif. 26.04%
-------------------------------- -----

Dayton-Springfield, Ohio 23.49%
------------------------ -----

Atlanta 17.85%
------- -----

Sacramento, Calif. 16.66%
------------------ -----

Santa Fe, N.M. 14.02%
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Areas with inventories having the longest time on market are shown below. While the Carolinas and Philadelphia have been on the list for the past several years, Florida markets are relatively recent entrants.

Median Age of Inventory
-----------------------

Top 5 MSAs with the Longest Median Days on Market
-------------------------------------------------

July 2013 vs. July 2012
-----------------------

South-SC-RSA 160
------------ ---

Myrtle Beach, S.C. 128
------------------ ---

Wilmington, N.C. 125
---------------- ---

Central-FL-RSA 125
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Reading, Pa. 122
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The 10 areas with the shortest time on market are shown below. The number of California markets on the list has declined steadily in the past few months, although Oakland, CA, continues to have the inventory with the lowest median age.

Median Age of Inventory
-----------------------

Top 5 MSAs with the Shortest Median Days on Market
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July 2013 vs. July 2012
-----------------------

Oakland, Calif. 20
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Denver 31
------ ---

Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash. 36
------------------------------- ---

San Jose, Calif. 37
---------------- ---

Detroit, Mich. 41
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Realtor.com regularly tracks real estate data and develops monthly reports featuring the number of listings, median age of inventory and median list price across the U.S. and in specific markets, as well as provides year-over-year and month-over-month changes. These reports are the only ones pulled directly from the realtor.com database, where 90% of listings are updated every 15 minutes from more than 800 multiple listing services.

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David Phillips is a Chicago-based freelance writer and consultant with more than 20 years experience in business and community news. He also has extensive reporting experience in the food manufacturing industry for national trade publications.