Can I hear a big woo hoo from everyone out there. This is something I’ve felt since last October and recently in competitive bidding on properties. I’m thrilled that it shows that prices are coming up. The appraisals have been lagging slightly, but we are making the transactions happen. Super low interest rates and the bottom is behind us. If you haven’t made the move yet, you’re missing out! Lump California together and we’re actually number 4 in low inventory. Prices were down so low and many people have chosen not to sell at those prices. Now that pricing is coming back slightly it may be time to go on the market! Let me know if I can help!
Top 10 metros for shrinking inventory
Realtor.com data shows 20 percent annual decline in US listings in May
By Inman News, Wednesday, June 13, 2012.
Supply and demand image via Shutterstock.Editor’s note: Data collected and analyzed by Realtor.com through May 2012. Includes single-family homes, condos, townhomes and co-ops.
The national housing market continues to stabilize, according to data compiled by Realtor.com for 146 U.S. metros through May 2012.
May continued April’s year-over-year upswing, with for-sale inventory dropping 20.07 percent, median list prices jumping 3.17 percent to $194,900, and median age of for-sale inventory falling 9.78 percent compared to a year ago.
| Data Point | Percent Change, May 2012 vs. May 2011 |
| Number of Listings | -20.07% |
| Median List Price | 3.17% |
| Median Age of Inventory | -9.78% |
As of May, national for-sale inventory stood at 1.88 million units, roughly 60 percent of a September 2007 inventory peak of 3.1 million units (2007 was the first year Realtor.com tracked this data nationally).
Despite a slight 1.96 percent month-over-month increase in national inventory — expected because listings usually swell during the springtime buying season — all but two of the 146 metros Realtor.com tracks had fewer homes for sale than a year ago.
Some of those markets hit hardest in the housing crisis — Atlanta and metros in Florida, Arizona and California — are showing some consistent, month-by-month turnaround. In May, Phoenix, Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla., and Atlanta were among the top 10 metros Realtor.com tracks with year-over-year percentage drops in for-sale inventory.
This month, six of the metros in the top 10 that saw the greatest reduction in inventories from a year ago were in California, including three in the San Francisco Bay Area: Oakland at No. 1 (56.6 percent fewer listings than a year ago); San Jose at No. 6 (40.88 percent fewer listings); and San Francisco at No. 10 (38.9 percent fewer listings).
Top 10 metros for greatest year-over-year reduction in for-sale inventory, May 2012
| Rank | Metro | For-sale inventory, percent change, May 2012 vs. May 2011 |
| 1 | Oakland, Calif. | -56.60% |
| 2 | Fresno, Calif. | -48.76% |
| 3 | Bakersfield, Calif. | -48.59% |
| 4 | Phoenix-Mesa, Ariz. | -44.71% |
| 5 | Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash. | -42.65% |
| 6 | San Jose, Calif. | -40.80% |
| 7 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla. | -39.76% |
| 8 | Stockton-Lodi, Calif. | -39.25% |
| 9 | Atlanta | -39.19% |
| 10 | San Francisco | -38.90% |
Real Vinings | Buckhead 